Legislation introduced to protect privacy rights at airport security

December 22, 2010 at 10:36 am | Posted in Aviation Law | Leave a comment

by Sara M. Langston with the blog faculty

While Americans are preparing for one of the busiest travel weeks of the year, Senator Jon Tester is introducing legislation to protect privacy rights at airport security.

Many travelers are concerned that new high-tech scanners produce revealing body images. On Thursday, Tester introduced a bill that would criminalize any misuse of airport body-scan images by federal employees.

The Transportation Security Administration forbids security screeners from saving or identifying body-scan images.

But Tester’s legislation would make it a federal crime to permanently photograph, record or distribute any image produced using a full-body scanner.

Federal employees who break the law would face up to one year in prison and a $100-thousand dollar fine under Tester’s legislation.