U.S.A.
Everyone Else
Health
Science
Business
Technology
Sports
Video Games
Entertainment
Future
Humour
Its a Fact!
NEWS > BUSINESS > OUT OF SHAPE PRIVACY ADVOCATES PROTESTING BODY IMAGING CAMERAS
OUT OF SHAPE PRIVACY ADVOCATES PROTESTING BODY IMAGING CAMERAS
May 18 2009
Atlanta, GA – The fourth amendment to the Constitution of The United States promises the right to privacy, both of the person and of possessions. The precise meaning of that amendment, much like all amendments, has been interpreted and re-interpreted though the years, filtered through changing morals and technologies. 
Advances such as compact cameras, satellite imaging, and the World Wide Web have all challenged the tenets of that particular amendment and now a new challenger is rising to the forefront.
‘Whole-body imaging’ is a process many once saw as a thing of Science Fiction but advances in the technology, which essentially take an x-ray picture of an individual, and it’s implementation in various airports across the United States has many privacy advocates up in arms. Citing the very delicate nature of what most people have under their clothes, the Electronic Privacy Information Center has organized a full scale protest against the use of the machines in hopes of protecting the nation’s privacy and preserving the dignity of the obese and unattractive travellers from around the world.
“People need to know what's happening, with no sugar-coating and no spinning,” said associate director Lillie Coney to CNN. “We don't have the policy to hold them to what they say. They're writing their own rule book at this point.”
The imagers are designed to be used to prevent smuggling of weapons or other illicit or illegal materials onto a plane but the less than delicate nature of the images produced has outraged advocates who have long been waiting for the opportunity to cite the fourth amendment.
“The first and second amendments get the lion’s share of the attention when it comes to media awareness but that does very little for people who make their living 
advocating privacy. Because of the nature of most projects that seek to erode privacy it’s very difficult to bring light onto those projects and get the general public riled up. At least it isn’t the third amendment though, those guys have a hell of a time,” said Scrape TV Legal analyst Gabe Hawthorne. “I mean quartering of soldiers in private houses? Who even uses the word ‘quartering’ anymore never mind house soldiers to evade war. Advocates with that amendment backing them up barely even get heard anymore.”
Popularity arguments aside, for many the imaging technology, much like that used in the movie ‘Total Recall’ brings up the spectre of difficulty in smuggling goods through airport security and the uncomfortable reality of strangers seeing literally every part of a traveller’s body. Body size has long been an issue for airlines many of which charge extra for obese travellers.
“We aren’t just talking about the massively obese that are going to be inconvenienced by this new technology. Anyone who is slightly out of shape is going to be subject to some kind of embarrassment to say nothing about the people, male and female, who aren’t as endowed as others in certain areas. There are some things that most people prefer remain private,” continued Hawthorne.
“There is of course an agreement in any kind of business that you as the customer assent to the rules and regulations set down by the proprietor and that is no different in the airline industry than it is in any other. You don’t have the right to fly; you are entering into an agreement with a business and therefore have to abide by their rules. Of course when you have a monopoly it does serve to bring up questions, especially if you aren’t in bikini shape.”
It is not expected that the protests will do anything to stop the implementation of the new imaging scanners which are currently in the testing phase at 19 airports across the United States.
“Perhaps this could provide the motivation for Americans to lose weight. Fear of heart
disease, diabetes, early death, all these things have done little to reverse the obesity epidemic but maybe the possibility of being seen naked by strangers could turn the tide,” continued Hawthorne. “These machines are expensive though and the likelihood that people will try and smash through them like Schwarzenegger did in ‘Total Recall’ is high and that more than anything may dissuade airports from using them on a widespread basis but we will see, probably more than we wanted.”
Airport security personnel will also be undergoing special training to inure them the effects of obese and unattractive passengers.
William Ashford, Business Correspondent
NEWS > BUSINESS > OUT OF SHAPE PRIVACY ADVOCATES PROTESTING BODY IMAGING CAMERAS
|
Scrape Store
