It looks like, San Diego's John Tyner's refusal to comply with airport security could cost him a lot of money.
KUSI's Ed Lenderman sheds some light on why Tyner could be paying a big fine.
An investigation into Saturday's incident has begun and Tyner could be fined as much as 11-thousand dollars for his refusal to be patted-down after refusing the body scan because it's a Federal Law.
Once you've committed yourself to airport screening, you must complete the process. Michael Aguilar, the Federal Security Director at Lindbergh Field says Tyner Faces up to 11-thousand dollars in civil penalties for his actions Saturday.
The airport security official also addressed the larger and growing issue of passengers' privacy involving the full-body scan, "the enemy we're facing isn't stagnant, our procedures continue to be refined, we use a risk-based system that addresses all the emerging threats or in response as was the case December 25th to new threats."
Aguilar is referring to the so-called "underwear bomber" last Christmas day who'd gotten aboard a plane with a non-metallic explosive. That kind of argument meets with this argument at the American Civil Liberties Union, that the routine use of scanners and pat-downs is excessive, unnecessary and unjustified but if there was a particular reason to scan or search a particular person, it would be warranted but the regular scanning routine should be suspicion-less scanners and pat-downs.
American Civil Liberties Union says the body scanner causes more harm to privacy and dignity than any other type of security.
Aguilar points out that when the scanned person clears, the image is immediately deleted from the system.
There's a grass-roots movement on the internet promoting a passenger protest the day before Thanksgiving, the busiest travel day of the year, opting out of a full body scan means a pat down, which will certainly slow things down.
Federal Security Director at Lindbergh Field, Michael Aguilar calls such a protest, if it happens, irresponsible.
Not the best news article, but I was meaning to post something about this.
If you've seen the news, airlines are now using these scanners to search people, which basically presents you virtually naked to a TSA officer behind a screen, so that person can verify what you have under your clothes.
[Image: http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a243/cardinal4/airport_xray_scanner.jpg]
[Image: http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a243/cardinal4/xraytwo.jpg]
^^ LOL! I dunno if that one's real.
But anywho, people are criticizing this new scanner, not only saying that it's an invasion of privacy, but that it also violates our civil liberties (and the 4th Amendment).
4th Amendment:
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
These scanners are now replacing metal detectors and make use of X-ray radiation to search you. X-ray radiation = bad. People are complaining that these things can have horrible short- and long-term effects on you, if you're someone who travels a lot. There is also criticism about what happens to these images, whether they are saved or not.
Nonetheless, there is an alternative to this method. It's called, the intensive pat-down.
Before, they used the back of the hands and felt you up to search you for any dangerous items. Now, they use their palms and even their fingers to search you. And it's pretty personal.
Women have had their breasts lifted up to see if they concealed anything under. Some even touch your genitals and in-between your buttocks to search ya.
This is an article which tells of a pilot that refused to go through both the scan and the pat-down:
A pilot who refused to submit to a full-body scan or the alternative pat down going through airport security said the procedures violate his rights.
Michael Roberts, a pilot for ExpressJet Airlines, refused a full-body scan last week at a Transportation Security Administration check point at Memphis International Airport in Memphis, Tennessee.
Opting out of scanning is permitted, but those who opt out must receive an enhanced pat down from a TSA employee.
"Pat down is misleading," Roberts said. "They concentrate on the area between ... the upper thighs and torso, and they're not just patting people's arms and legs, they're grabbing and groping and prodding pretty aggressively."
Roberts said TSA security measures are ineffective, and cited concerns for his rights and privacy in refusing the procedures.
"I was trying to avoid this assault on my person, and I'm not willing to have images of my nude body produced for some stranger in another room to look at either," Roberts told CNN.
The TSA said in a statement that "security is not optional" and any person who refuses security screening is not allowed to fly.
"TSA's responsibility is to keep the traveling public safe and we use an unpredictable variety of security techniques to carry out this mission," the statement said.
"Crew members have access to sensitive areas of both airports and airplanes, making it necessary for all crew members to be subject to multiple layers of security."
Roberts, who has worked for ExpressJet for more than four years, said this was the first time he was asked to use the body scanners.
http://articles.cnn.com/2010-10-20/travel/pilot.refuses.body.scan_1_body-scanners-tsa-full-body-scan?_s=PM:TRAVEL
The whole idea just seems disgusting and bothers me a lot. Makes me not wanna fly again, actually. I don't want a blast of X-ray, nor do I want some rough worker feeling me up.
But what's your take on this?
What's the line between security and privacy? Should the TSA even be doing this?
Is this too much?