The Progressive

NewsWire

A project of Common Dreams

For Immediate Release
Contact:

Mandy Simon, (202) 675-2312; media@dcaclu.org

TSA Expands Use Of Invasive Body Scanners

WASHINGTON

According
to reports today, the Transportation Security Administration will
expand the use of full body scanners to 11 more American airports over
the next two years. The body scanners, or whole body imaging devices,
create a strikingly revealing image of the human body. The American
Civil Liberties Union believes that this technology greatly infringes
on civil liberties and there are serious questions regarding its
efficacy in protecting airline travelers.

In
the wake of the attempted Christmas Day attack, the government has
announced intensified airport screening and there have been calls for
the across-the-board implementation of full body scanners for all
travelers. Both the House and Senate have held multiple hearings on
airport security since January.
The following can be attributed to Laura W. Murphy, Director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office:
"The Bill of Rights extends beyond curbside check-in and if
the government insists on using these invasive search techniques, it is
imperative that there be vigorous oversight and regulation to protect
our privacy. There is no one measure or magic solution to keeping us safe, and while our government should strive for the best security possible, it must adhere to respect Americans' civil liberties.
"Before
these body scanners become the status quo at America's airports, we
need to ensure new security technologies are genuinely effective,
rather than merely creating a false sense of security. It is far from
clear whether this technology would have been able to foil the
attempted Christmas Day attack and every resource we put into using
these machines is a resource not spent on intelligence analysis or
other law enforcement activity."

The American Civil Liberties Union was founded in 1920 and is our nation's guardian of liberty. The ACLU works in the courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to all people in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States.

(212) 549-2666