Full body scanners rejected in the European Union
Full body scanners, which enable security personnel to see through clothes, have been rejected by the European Union at the member airports for now.
Gadling reports that the European Parliament has voted against authorizing their use in European airports. The vote was 361 to 16 against the scanners. Lawmakers are asking for more study concerning the privacy and health aspects of the machines.
Germany is going one step further. No matter what the EU decides, the Interior Ministry said that they will never appear in German airports. A spokesperson for the Ministry tells the Associated Press that they will not participate with “this nonsense.”
So far only Holland have given a positive feedback on the scanner, which has been in use for testing purposes at Schipol since May 2007.
Dutch Justice Minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin said to several newspapers that the device is very discreet and that he’d be all for its use. Even leftists and liberal politicians, who have criticized the scanner, have not rejected the device outright. They do insist that clear and strict rules for its use must be in place throughout the European Union.
The biggest concern for civil rights advocates is whether the images produced could one day be circulated on the Internet.
It remains to be seen whether Germany will go its own way if the EU eventually ends up approving the scanners and issues a directive. In the meantime, while the EU balks at full-body disclosure, these high-tech scanners continue to be installed at airports across the US.
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