Government agencies now store nude pictures of you.
Well, if you travel on the major airlines out of some major airports, they do.
When the Transportation Security Administration began using full-body scanning at select airports — with devices such as the backscatter X‑ray machine, which can show every lovely and unlovely fold (if not freckle) on your body — officials rushed to defend their practice of peering at us under our clothing. It was only for our safety. Besides, the images were made only for immediate viewing. They weren’t even stored.
Why, they couldn’t be stored!
We learned this week how wrong that was. The U.S. Marshals Service has been secretly storing thousands and thousands of the images. Furthermore, specifications for some devices even require that they send the images over networks.
Once again, government folk have lied to us.
There’s no evidence that anyone’s been blackmailed based on the images. But you have to think of privacy dangers in the fourth dimension, time. Can we trust people in future governments with our intimate details as unforeseen crises come to the fore? As new personnel gain access to the archives? As tomorrow’s politicians pledge (and routinely break) their oaths of office?
We wear clothing to select who will see us naked. Taking that prerogative away, in the name of security, and giving it to people we do not know?
That’s transparently foolish. And unsafe.
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.
4 replies on “Who “YouTubes” You, and Why”
This is just one of the reasons I refuse to fly anymore. I just won’t tolerate the hassle at airports. I refuse to allow that sort of insult.
Besides, the hassle at airports does not afford any real improvement in security; it’s more for show than anything else. Our best national security measures against terrorism are in spying and other intelligence activities.
I have not had any of that kind of
security used on me personally. (Maybe I am too old and not interesting enough)The flights I have taken so far this year, the checking has been very routine and
fast. The airports are getting very good at getting us through in just a few minutes and the lines go quickly. I did have someone steal my jewelry out of my checked bag which I had tucked into a tiny place. The security people decided to open it and when I got to my destination.… it was gone.
Lesson learned. Wear it.
The rule is, check anything that a TSA agent might take a fancy to.
They will confiscate anything that they might like to have in the name of security.
I recently lost a money clip that had passed security for years because a TSA agent wanted it. It’s hard to believe that a 72 year old man would want to hijack a plane with a money clip with a one inch nail file on it.
So much for security at the airport.
Mary E warns us against putting valuable in checked bags, John Ken warns us against not putting valuables in checked bags. Seems the answer is leave the glittery stuff home or mail it on ahead.