Ambiguous New TSA Rule Makes Body Scanners “Mandatory”

While the American people were distracted with holiday plans, the Transportation Security Administration quietly introduced new rules that ban travelers from opting out of the agency’s controversial “naked body scanners,” seemingly capitalizing on heightened concerns about terror. Critics contend that the changes are just the latest example of constitutional violations at the hands of the TSA and have vowed to fight.

 

Since their introduction to airports in 2007, the body scanners have been the subject of intense controversy for a variety of reasons, ranging from privacy concerns over the essentially naked images the machines capture to health problems resulting from the amount of radiation to which travelers are exposed.

 

In the past, travelers were permitted to opt out of the body scanners in lieu of the equally controversial enhanced pat downs, which involve hand-sliding gestures over private parts; however, the new DHS protocol removes that option for certain travelers.

 

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