Naked airport scanners in child porn uproar

October 19, 2009 by Infowars Ireland

A combination of images shows an airport staff member demonstrating a full body scan at Manchester Airport.

www.theage.com.au

Manchester Airport has been forced to rethink trials of its invasive new X-ray machine after claims the “naked” images of airline passengers could violate child pornography laws.

This week, the airport began a year-long trial of the full-body scanner, which can instantly detect any hidden weapons or explosives without passengers having to remove any of their clothing – such as shoes and belts – for a search.

It effectively does away with the need to frisk passengers and is expected to speed up the security process at airports, but the cost of that is passengers are starkly naked in front of security staff. Genital outlines are clearly visible on the screen.

The scanner’s manufacturer, RapiScan, is already eyeing further airports around the world. A few weeks ago it sold 30 of the $US160,000 ($174,000) scanners to the US Transportation Security Administration, Forbes reported.

The Times in Britain reported that the number sold to the US was closer to 1000.

The technology has already been trialled at Heathrow airport and if the trials are successful it could be rolled out across Britain.

But British children’s advocate Action on Rights for Children (ARCH) said the technology would fall foul of the country’s Protection of Children Act, which states it is an offence to “’show” and “make” an indecent image of a child.

The group said it was irrelevant that the naked images were not stored and that parents’ permission was required before children could be scanned. It pointed to a provision in the act outlawing “pseudo-photographs”. Read full article…