TSA’s New Screening Policies Pose Threat to Civil Liberties

From the Claremont Port Side:

As the height of this year’s holiday travel season approaches, airport crowding may be the least of the average traveler’s worries. Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) controversial full body scanner machines, already in use at 70 airports nation-wide despite their debatable effectiveness, and invasive pat-down searches routinely subject travelers to discomfort and humiliation.

According to TSA’s guidelines, “imaging technology screening [full body scans] is optional for all passengers. Passengers who do not wish to receive imagining technology screening will receive alternate screening, including a pat-down.”

However, due to a recent change in TSA policy, these pat-downs have become more invasive. According to an American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) news release entitled “TSA Pat-Down Search Abuse,” “screeners are now authorized to use the front of their hands and to touch areas around breasts and groins.”