Body scanners are a virtual strip-search that Americans should not be subjected to. They offer very little security value in return for the cost to our dignity and privacy.

Let’s be clear: The body scanners - known as “backscatter” - are X-ray devices that expose us to radiation. And the government has not carefully studied what long-term effects that radiation will have on frequent fliers, or even casual ones.

But of more immediate concern, they create incredibly graphic images of our naked bodies. Those images will reveal not only our private body parts, but also intimate medical details such as colostomy bags or the effects of a mastectomy.

The government is now touting its ability to hide these revealing images. The problem is that masking the revealing images is likely to degrade the very pictures of weapons and explosives that the X-rays are supposed to find. In other words, to have any potential security value, they are going to need to be graphic. How long will it be before the TSA succumbs to the pressure to go back to exposing the full image?

And the inconvenient truth is that the government has a very poor track record of keeping Americans’ personal information private. It is sadly predictable that the body image of a famous person, or even ordinary people, will be sold for profit or perverse amusement. Even a few such incidents will make us all feel more exposed and could have a devastating effect on our very fragile airline industry.

I have no doubt we would be marginally safer if we were all forced to fly naked. But that’s just not something that Americans would accept - and neither should they accept this machine.

There are less intrusive technologies for detecting explosives. One example is explosive detection portals, which blow air on passengers and look for molecules of explosives. That kind of a technology is where the government should be focusing its resources and public relations efforts.

We don’t need to fly naked to be safe.

Source: USA Today