Appeals Court Rules In Favor of Nude Body Scanners; Against Privacy Advocates and Other Decent Peoples
The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in D.C.* ruled today that Advanced Imaging Technology, better known as "nude scanners," do not violate the Fourth Amendment rights of travelers:
"The petitioners [The Electronic Privacy Information Center] argue that using AIT for primary screening violates the Fourth Amendment because it is more invasive than is necessary to detect weapons or explosives…As other circuits have held, and as the Supreme Court has strongly suggested, screening passengers at an airport is an 'administrative search' because the primary goal is not to determine whether any passenger has committed a crime but rather to protect the public from a terrorist attack."
However, the court did give TSA a slap on the wrist for adopting the scanners as a "primary screening method" without first having a period of public comment. The court has asked TSA to seek public comments, but won't stop them from using AIT in the meantime, reports Bloomberg:
"Due to the obvious need for the TSA to continue its airport security operations without interruption, we remand the rule to the TSA but do not vacate it," the court said in its ruling.
According to WIRED, the TSA told the court earlier this year that a period of public comment would "would thwart the government's ability to respond to 'ever-evolving threats.'"
*Not the D.C. Appeals Court, as I miswrote earlier.
