TSA scraps 'naked' images of passengers during airport screening dumpeds

TSA scraps 'naked' images of passengers during airport screening dumpeds
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AFTER months of controversy, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) said it plans to replace the software of its full-body scanners, eliminating the graphic, near-naked images of passengers generated during airport screenings.

Instead, TSA Administrator John S. Pistole announced that its scanners will produce a "generic outline of a person" for all passengers, while still allowing its airport screeners to detect items that could pose a potential threat, such as weapons or explosives.

"Our top priority is the safety of the travelling public, and TSA constantly strives to explore and implement new technologies that enhance security and strengthen privacy protections for the travelling public," Pistole said.

"This software upgrade enables us to continue providing a high level of security through advanced imaging technology screening, while improving the passenger experience at checkpoints."

The TSA came under fire after rolling out more thorough airport screening methods last fall, which, in addition to more invasive pat-downs, included the image-producing full-body scanners.

Under the new plan, passengers will be able to view the same body-outline that TSA officers see when they pass through the machines. The "naked" images, meanwhile, are viewed by a TSA officer in a remotely located viewing room.

The TSA said it already had successfully tested the new software at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International, Las Vegas McCarran International and Ronald Reagan Washington National airports in February.

The software upgrades apply to the TSA's millimeter wave body-scanning machines and will be deployed over the next several months in the airports where they are used. The agency is also plans to test similar software for backscatter units in the fall.

There are nearly 500 body-scanning machines at 78 airports nationwide, including millimeter wave and backscatter units, with additional units planned for deployment this year, the TSA said.