31 July 2011

Filed under:   New Zealand   digital ethics   privacy

Reasons why full-body scanners shouldn't be used at security checkpoints

Customs recently trialled full-body scanners at Auckland International Airport. Here's why we need to stop them being introduced in New Zealand:

  1. The most important point: It's security theatre. It doesn't actually improve security, it only makes people feel more secure. There have been multiple instances of box-cutters, razors and even pistols getting through undetected; and in any case there are various simple and undetectable methods for carrying explosives.
  2. Safety concerns
    1. The European Commission and several others have recommended they are not used on pregnant women and children.
    2. The machines are not open to scrutiny from independent researchers, the software is closed-source.
    3. If the X-ray beam is stopped for even a second, the concentrated radiation would cause serious injury. Any use of powerful X-rays is inherently dangerous. Even medical scanners have malfunctioned and caused delivered significant overdoses (causing hair loss, full-body rashes and seizures1) despite all safety precautions; even more disturbingly, in some cases overdoses were not detected for over a year. Normally the very small risk of malfunction, and the radiation dose (with its corresponding increased risk of cancer), is acceptable because of the very likely benefits; but in this case there is no direct benefit to the person being scanned.
  3. Privacy concerns
    1. Many people believe it is against their religion to expose themselves to a stranger.
    2. Machine specifications require the ability to store the images (despite TSA claiming the opposite).
    3. Airport employees have been caught using the nude pictures of women as pornography.

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References at the Wikipedia article. Which BTW is messy and biased so as always feel free to improve it!