Attard-Montalto to vote in favour of body scanners
Matthew Vella
Labour MEP John Attard-Montalto has indicated he will probably be voting in favour of additional airport security measures, which will include ‘body scanners’ inside airports – Malta’s included – that will virtually strip airline passengers completely naked to disclose hidden guns, knives or explosives.
The MEP sits on the Transport and Tourism committee in the European Parliament that will be first vetting the draft European Commission regulation, expected to enter into force by April 2010.
“If I had to choose between extra security against the invasion of privacy, I think I would be in favour of the body scanners,” Attard-Montalto said, saying the climate of international security was still one that necessitated the security measures.
“Those who refuse a physical body search today are not allowed to board a plane. With hijacking and similar criminal activity seems to be less common than it used to be, many see additional security measures, such as the ban on liquids, as gilding the lily,” the MEP said.
Attard-Montalto however admitted that the introduction of body scanners was an invasion of privacy.
The millimetre-wave imaging scanners, already installed in major American airports and on test drive at London’s Heathrow airport, will be used to create a full body scan of passengers that will leave little to the imagination of security officers to what lies beneath our clothes.
The draft regulation, proposed by the EU transport commissioner Antonio Tajani to supplement civil aviation security, is proposing that the body scanners are used “individually or in combination” with a common ‘pat-down’ search.
The controversial move has sent privacy watchdogs and civil liberties organisations in European member states in a frenzy.
Airport security staff will be inspecting graphic images of people’s bodies, complete with genitalia and other sensitive personal details such as evidence of mastectomies, colostomy appliances, penile implants, catheter tubes and even the size of their breasts or genitals.
Tony Bunyan, the editor of civil liberties watchdog Statewatch, said the introduction of body scanners by the EU was another case of ‘if it is technologically possible it should be used’ inside Europe, with no consideration for proportionality, privacy and civil liberties.
“The screening methods proposed include metal detection, explosive trace equipment and bottled liquid scanners, what else will be revealed by body scanning? And if there is another need then it should be targeted with a specific technology without subjecting people including women, old people and children to such a shameful and undignified experience”.
Paolo Costa MEP, chairman of the European Parliament’s Transport Committee, has written to commissioner Tajani for more information on the proportionality of introducing body scanners.
Clearly expressing concern on the measure, Costa asked: “What will the impact of body scanners be on passenger health? What will the impact be on passenger privacy? Will screening points be separated from viewing points? How will the image data be held, and when will it be destroyed?”
What’s wrong with body scanners?
A virtual strip search – something first seen in sci-fi films such as Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Total Recall – may soon be a reality inside Europe’s airports if Brussels gets its way.
Body scanners produce graphic images of passengers’ bodies, revealing not only private body parts, but also intimate medical details like colostomy bags, which can be humiliating for some people.
Safeguards
In America, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) touts privacy safeguards such as the blurring of faces, the non-retention of images (deleted immediately after scanning), and the viewing of images only by screeners in a separate room.
The American Civil Liberties Union says it is sceptical of these safeguards. It says the protections are “the technological equivalent” of making passengers parade naked through a separate room with a bag on their head.
Obscuring faces is also “just a software fix” that can be undone as easily as it is applied, the ACLU says, adding that obscuring faces does not hide the fact that the rest of the body will be vividly displayed.
The ACLU also doubts how much, even though these images will not be retained, will employees restrain themselves from retaining images of celebrities or “freakish” bodies, which can end up on the Internet.
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