TSA to phase out Naked Body Scans!

[sabrina 1]

Just saw a report on CNN. Not sure if this is a response to the public outcry over privacy concerns yet, Pistole says they have been working on 'improving' the scanners for a while.

Congress was looking at defunding them also. And several states were preparing legislation to ban the intrusive tactics used in patdowns.

Before last Fall, travellers were able to opt out of the scanners, but when the TSA introduced the 'enhanced patdowns' people felt pressured to avoid them by using the scanners.

With these improvements to the scanners, people can now avoid the 'enhanced' pat downs, which may be next to go imho.

This is the only link I could find so far:

Naked Body Scans at Airports to Be Phased Out

July 20, 2011 By News Staff
The full-body scanners used to screen passengers at airport security checkpoints will be getting new software that will discontinue “passenger-specific” images, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced Wednesday, July 20.

The revealing images, decried by privacy advocates and the general public, had been designed to spot weapons and other contraband concealed on a passenger’s body. But the TSA’s “millimeter wave Advanced Imaging Technology machines” gave security screeners an X-ray view of a passenger’s naked body, including genitalia. Last year, some of these embarrassing images were leaked online.

A software upgrade, called Automated Target Recognition, “will auto-detect items that could pose a potential threat using a generic outline of a person for all passengers,” according to the TSA announcement on Wednesday. The location of potential threats is indicated on a generic, computer-generated outline of a person that appears on a monitor attached to the scanner. “Further, a separate TSA officer will no longer be required to view the image in a remotely located viewing room,” according to the TSA.

Passengers will be able to see the same body image the TSA agent sees.

Congratulations to all those Civil Libertarians and to everyone who spoke out against the violations of their rights.

Who said speaking out doesn't have an effect?

This might stop some of the lawsuits which were piling up.