Privacy and travelling
By Annetje Bosch
The ubiquitous threat of terrorism has lead to travelling being not quite what it used to be, particularly as passport information is no longer the only requirement for air travel passengers. Not only does our passport contain more information than it used to; through high-tech innovation it manages to file an eye-scan and even utilize fingerprint information. Traditional methods of airport security such as: x-rays, taking shoes off and body-searching are transformed by the addition of the full-body scan which has become a crucial tool in the arsenal of airport security staff. We need to analyze what these machines show, and more importantly, how have they affected our privacy?
The full body scan is operated from a large blue box that passengers stand in through which the scan is able to search an entire person for anything illegal concealed underneath clothing. Within just 7 seconds the scan produces a ghostly naked image with curves and genitals eerily visible.
The idea of our personal body images subject to a human operator’s view is not the most comfortable of ideas, at the same time, it is for our own personal safety as any anomalies are shown as well. Consequently, it is easier to trace the new ‘underpants’ terrorists and hence increasing the overall safety. Ever since the bombing incident on the 25th December 2009, where one passenger attempted to set plastic explosives off which were sewn into his underwear, airport security has tightened.
Passengers are not obliged to go through the full-body scan. Alternatively, passengers can choose the selective screening process, which basically involves a thorough frisking procedure, which is by no means comfortable, and is both more time consuming and stressful.
For privacy reasons, individual’s faces on the scans are blurred out so even the customs employees are not able to associate an individual person with a particular scan. The body scans are actually viewed in a separate room with a special devise so the person screening the passenger hasn’t actually had prior contact with that passenger. Also, this ensures that the files are not printed or retained but crucially are destroyed after the scan is approved.
Perhaps the security of this kind is not an option, but something that is forced upon us, however, it is an effective method of keeping air travel safe. In the short term future, this form of airport security is likely to become a fairly standard in airports all over the world.