Federal Judge says government need not disclose air traveler security images

January 13, 2011 at 3:39 pm | Posted in Aviation Law Current Event | Leave a comment

by Sara M. Langston with the blog faculty

Source: CNN

Washington (CNN) — A federal judge in Washington has ruled the Department of Homeland Security can keep from public view 2,000 “whole-body” images taken to test the machines used to screen travelers at airport checkpoints.

The decision is a setback for the Electronic Privacy Information Center, which had sued the government for release of material to determine how the technology would impact privacy and civil liberty concerns.

But Judge Ricardo Urbina, in a 15-page opinion issued Wednesday, said the Homeland Security Department has no obligation under the Freedom of Information Act to disclose the images or related training materials. [Full story]

The case is Electronic Privacy Information Center v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security (cv09-2084).