Tester introduces legislation for airport body-scan privacy

From KRTV.com in Great Falls, Montana:

U.S. Senator Jon Tester introduced legislation on Thursday to strengthen privacy rights by criminalizing any misuse of airport body-scan images by Transportation Security Administration employees.

Many travelers have become concerned that new high-tech scanners produce revealing body images.

TSA rules forbid security screeners from saving or identifying the images; Tester’s legislation would make it a federal crime to permanently photograph, record or distribute any image produced using a full-body scanner.

Employees of federal agencies like the IRS and the Social Security Administration are already prohibited by law from distributing citizens’ private information. Tester’s measure would similarly ban the distribution of body-scan images taken in airports or any other federal buildings.

Federal employees who illegally record or distribute body-scan images would face up to one year in prison and a $100,000 fine under Tester’s legislation.

Tester has posted the Security Screening Privacy Act on his website (new window, PDF).