Udall Reacts to TSA Decision to Upgrade Privacy Protections at Airport Security Checkpoints

Press Release

Senator Previously Introduced Amendment Setting Deadline for Use of New Imaging Technology

U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-NM) today released the following statement in reaction to an announcement by the Transportation Security Administration that it is upgrading its full body scanners at airports nationwide over the next several months to eliminate the use of images that show a passenger's naked body:

"I'm glad to hear that the TSA is speeding up its plan to implement this new software to enhance passenger privacy at our airports. The body images currently produced by screening machines at airport checkpoints are highly revealing and many passengers are justifiably uncomfortable being screened by the technology. With this upgrade, we will be able to enforce airport security without sacrificing our personal privacy."

Earlier this year, Udall - a member of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, proposed an amendment to the pending FAA Reauthorization to increase privacy protections for airline passengers screened by TSA whole-body scanners. His amendment - which set a Jan. 1, 2012, deadline for the installation of privacy enhancing software, was included in the final FAA Reauthorization approved by the Senate in February. The software enhances privacy by eliminating passenger-specific images and instead detects potential threat items and indicates their location on a generic outline of the individual being screened.

The new software will be installed on all millimeter wave AIT units currently in airports, with plans to test similar software for backscatter units in the fall, according to the TSA. Currently, there are nearly 500 imaging technology units at 78 airports nationwide, including millimeter wave and backscatter units, with additional units planned for deployment this year.

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