Shostack + Friends Blog Archive

Lies, Damned Lies and TSA Statements: Today’s news grope-up

• Earlier this week, the White House responded to the UC San Francisco faculty letter on nudatrons. (We mentioned that here.) National Academy of Sciences member John Sedat says “many misconceptions, and we will write a careful answer pointing out their errors.” [link to http://news.cnet.com/8301-31921_3-20022541-281.html no longer works]
• TSA has claimed that pictures will have blurred genital areas to “protect privacy.” Except as it turns out, they don’t, as documented by Dave ‘not very funny about this’ Barry in “Groin Update.” See also “So What Are We Able To See On The Body Scanner,” [link to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3EhqO-r8k4 no longer works] which would explain why a “blurred groin” is unusual.
• TSA has also claimed that the naked pictures they take will be shown in a seperate room. As CMU professor Latanya Sweeny documents, they are visible to the public. Airport Body Scanner Disrupts Personal Security.
• Despite TSa claims of equal treatment, Chris Soghoian reminds us that Congress and the cabinet don’t go through this.
• TSA’s claims that they don’t store the images have not yet been publicly disproven.
• All of which adds up to a great deal of national outrage:
  

  Reuters reports that, “Executives from the travel industry, including online travel sites, theme parks and hotels, were set to meet Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Pistole on Friday to discuss their concerns that security is crimping travel.”

  The feds were forced into action after five prominent pilot and travel associations, along with a flight attendants union, vowed to boycott naked body scanners as well as the new invasive pat down procedure, threatening travel chaos. The backlash has also been characterized by new cases of individuals being abused at the hands of the TSA, stories which continue to pour in [link to http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=7780727 no longer works] on a daily basis.

Thanks to @ioerror, @nationaloptout, @samablog and to @boingboing for:

Originally published by adam on 12 Nov 2010
Last modified on 29 May 2017
Categories:   Air Travel   Liberty   privacy