Airport Security: Why Safety Is More Important Than Privacy

decided to overhaul their security protocols and specifically upgrade the security involving airports and airplanes. The upgrade in security of airports, although in some cases helpful, has caused an unnecessary amount of problems for American civilians due to the invasive changes made by the American government. Not only is it harder to get through security in America, but many of the American’s privacies have been taken away by the government in the name of safety as David Lyon says in his article on security changes in airports: “after 9/11, various policies and even laws concerning matters such as privacy and confidentiality have been overridden by the concern with ‘national security’”(405). Under the claim of safety, American and foreign civilians’ rights and privacy have been abused and taken away, leading to many people being overall upset and angry with the

Just recently there has been uproar over airport security and the use of body scanners on passengers. After 9/11 many airlines have toughen up their security measures in order to prevent this tragic accident to ever occur again. In order to improve security and make our lives a lot safer airlines have implemented many different types of technology. Technology aids airline security to see what passengers are possibly carrying under their clothing. Making passengers go through X-Ray screenings can not only prevent passengers from boarding a plane with harmful equipment but it can also deter the thought of someone actually making an attempt to board while carrying a weapon. Other technological advancements such as surveillance cameras are being

The federal government assured the public that pictures would not be recorded and saved from these machines.  That is not the case.  The scanner that was uses in a Florid courthouse showed the actual “people side-by-side with their X-rayed selves” (Allahpundit).  Why did the government outright lie to the public?  To save their own asses, of course.  This is in direct violation of the Fourth Amendment.  The amendment gives people the right to be secure in their persons against unreasonable searches.  I believe the scanning of humans and taking pictures of their faces violates this.   Shockingly, former TSA security director, Mo McGowan, openly stated on fox news that “Nobody likes to have their 4th Amendment violated going through a security line, but the truth of the matter is, we’re going to have to do it” (Left Coast Rebel).  Excuse me? Did this man actually say this in public?  It’s not shocking that he’s no longer the security director.

Another measure TSA took was to add body scanners to security. These scanners can see what a person is carrying underneath their clothes. There have been a few different designs to this machine due to some lawsuits in the past brought up because the TSA agents were making fun of a man’s gentile size or certain passengers would feel embarrassed because someone can see their bodies. Now what the TSA agent sees is an outline of the passenger’s body and whatever is on the body. The body scanner does not show a naked person anymore.

Since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, body scans and security checkpoints have become the norm for airports throughout America. Airports tell you what you’re allowed to have and they restrict small things such as scissors, pocket knives, too much

In this essay, I will attempt to argue that TSA serves as a mechanism for the government to frame the nature of the debate on privacy, in a way that is beneficial to them. To do this I will first argue that airport security and the TSA is objectively ineffective and merely creates the illusion of privacy. Despite not actually protecting us, the system of airplane security, conditions individuals in the general public to be willing to make sacrifices in privacy for a perceived “greater good” in community safety. This viewpoint of individuals sacrificing a little privacy for the wellbeing of society is the essentially the same “nothing to hide” argument that the government uses to justify mass surveillance and the violation of constitutional privacy rights. This airplane security and analogues government argument is flawed because it defines privacy two narrowly in scope and assumes that privacy couldn’t have social value. However, despite being flawed, the indoctrination by the TSA, and subsequent ideology has become a widely accepted belief. This is inherently

The current screening method is the body scanner which has been reported on multiple times by the news as it is consider invasive in nature. The screener is able to see the passenger’s nude image, but software updates have eliminated this providing only detection of metallic and nonmetallic threats. The prior method of a metal detector which did not alarm staff if nonmetallic threats existed allowed C-4 explosive (a clay type of explosive) to board the plan. The body scanners are quicker than the former methods of a “pat down”, which every passenger had to endure and were less invasive. This system will be used by the TSA until a better method is discovered, which will provide faster screening, more privacy to passengers and better detection of threats. The cost of this has rising over the years but it was the initial setup of the TSA in 2002 which cost the most since there was not an agency within this realm that completed these duties.

After the devastating terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11th, TSA (Transportation Security Administration) was created and have since then beefed up their security. Because of all the new security devices and rules taking place now, the wait time at in the security line is longer, but for a good reason. On an average day, TSA screens 1.1 million bags. Of those 1.1 million bags, around 50,000 of them have to be checked thoroughly due to suspicious items inside the bags. The wait time at airport security lines has increased because of new threats. Because of an increase in the wait time at the security line, some people find it very frustrating and think that all the precautions are unnecessary. Those people are wrong though. In the past years since TSA was created, multiple bomber attacks have been attempted but have yet to succeed due to TSA keeping up with its safety requirements. In 2010, TSA started to use full body scanners. Some people are uncomfortable with the idea that when going through the body scanners, they are almost viewed completely naked and worry that those photos will be leaked. In Emily Holbrook’s article, Airport Security: privacy vs. safety, she makes an interesting pint when it comes to body scanners by quoting Rep. Jason Chaffetz, who said, ‘” you don’t need to look at my wife and 8-year-old daughter naked in order to secure that airplane”’ (quoted in QTD. Holbrook 14). This is an issue that has been brought to many people when going

Debate continues over interpretation of fourth amendment rights as applied to the Transportations Security Administration’s (TSA) use of full body scanners. In the opinion article appearing in the Washington Post, Rosen clearly defines the arguments against full body or naked scanners attempting to sway public opinion and thus, swaying a potential supreme court decision regarding its use as a violation of the Fourth Amendment (2010). Not only does this article point out the level of invasiveness and the ineffectiveness of naked scanners but, also provides less intrusive methods that could be used in its place.

Through the history of aviation the importance of airport security has steadily increased. Since the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001, many changes have taken place at airports to prevent such an attack from occurring again. The purpose of this paper is to: outline airport security procedures, discuss the different technologies involved with airport security, as well as examine the components of airport security. In addition I will also discuss the Transportation Security Administration’s role in our nation’s airport security.

We live in a world today, in which technology moves at a very rapid pace. Many of these technological advances can be used to make our everyday lives easier and safer. One of these new technologies is Biometrics. Biometrics is the process of measuring a person’s physical properties. This would include measuring things like fingerprints, retinas, odor, vein structure on the back of the hand and many other things. Biometrics is a very important topic because it would create better security precautions for certain places that need to be secure. Biometrics will make our society safer by only allowing authorized people out of secure facilities and by keeping the unauthorized people out. Throughout the rest of this

Furthermore, these full body scanning devices may not even be effective. A team of researchers at UC San Diego, University

When it comes to airport security methods there is conflicting views on it. Are they the best method used by the government for a passenger’s safety or are there better methods available were passengers feel the same amount of safety. Full body scans along with pat-downs are the methods used by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to ensure the safety of passengers before boarding a plane. The common metal detector is now not enough to provide a clear and effective solution to what a passenger is carrying on them before boarding. Passengers have felt that the TSA and the scans violate the Fourth Amendment and the Privacy Act because they are required to at least go through one search method in order to board a plane.. As a result of this there are mixed views some leading to lawsuits and one’s health is being question with these methods being used.

The tension between national security and individual privacy has long existed even before the development of digitized information. Recently, two main forces have advanced the debate over this balance to the forefront of the public eye: 1) the proliferation of data by private sector companies and 2) the heightened need for homeland security and public defense. With the rapid evolution of technology, companies have aggregated pools of consumer data to improve upon internal decision making. In some cases, however, this data can be leveraged to ensure national security and public safety. This juxtaposition of enterprise and security results in a blurring of the line dividing public and private sector responsibilities. The question becomes an issue of moral obligation versus legal responsibility. What are we as consumers and citizens willing to sacrifice in exchange for safety? And does the private sector inevitably succumb to obligations originating from the public sector?

Airport security is necessary for the safety and efficiency of airlines today. Attacks involving airlines have been “among the deadliest in terms of human lives and economic impact,” even though relatively few attacks have occurred using airlines compared to other terrorism methods (Szyliowicz, 2011, p.2). Airport Security has been administered using a government-operated system since the Aviation and Transportation Security Act was enacted in 2001. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA), now an agency of homeland security, replaced private security measures and personnel with at least 60,000 federal employees (Szyliowicz, 2011). However, privatization may be making a come-back. The following analysis will analyze