Entries tagged with: Airport security
131 result(s) displayed.
TSA "Unplugs, Boxes Up, and Ships Back" X-Ray Body Scanners
The TSA has completed removal of the x-ray body scanners from US airports. The devices revealed detailed images of a person's naked body and have been described as "digital strip searches." The TSA action follows an Act of Congress and...
Public Opposes TSA Nude Body Scanners
Following a court mandate that the Transportation Security Administration receive public comment on airport body scanners, the public overwhelmingly opposes invasive nude body scanners. The court mandate was in response to EPIC's lawsuit in EPIC v. DHS, where EPIC successfully...
EPIC Appeals FOIA Decisions Concerning Body Scanner Information
EPIC has filed appeals in two Freedom of Information Act cases seeking documents related to airport body scanners from the Department of Homeland Security and the Transportation Security Administration. EPIC filed FOIA requests with the agencies seeking records related to...
EPIC Obtains News Information on TSA Body Scanner Program
The Transportation Security Administration was forced to disclose additional information regarding the Agency's controversial body scanner program after EPIC prevailed in a lawsuit against the Agency. In March 2013, Judge Royce Lamberth held that the Agency had unlawfully redacted certain...
TSA Begins Court Ordered Rulemaking on Body Scanner Program, EPIC Urges Public Comment
The TSA announced today that it will begin a public comment process on its airport screening procedures. The action follows from a 2011 court order in EPIC v. DHS. In that case, the Federal Appeals Court for the DC Circuit...
EPIC Prevails in Two FOIA Cases, Obtains Further Details on Body Scanners
A federal judge has granted EPIC victories in two Freedom of Information Act cases involving the controversial airport body scanners. Judge Royce Lamberth in Washington, DC held that the Department of Homeland Security must turn over two safety reports detailing...
EPIC Obtains DHS Body Scanner Training Manuals, New Questions About Absence of Privacy Safeguards
In response to an EPIC FOIA request, the Department of Homeland Security has released documents about the use of body scanners by the US Secret Service. EPIC sought information about the types of images that body scanners capture, the length...
TSA to Pull Naked Body Scanners Out of US Airports
The US Transportation Security Administration will end the contract for backscatter x-ray devices. As a consequence, all devices that produce a detailed naked image of air travelers will be removed from US airports. Beginning in 2005, EPIC and then a...
TSA Resurrects Use of Commercial Data for Passenger Screening
The TSA is considering the use of commercial data to screen passengers, a controversial practice that was previously blocked in Washington. In 2005 Congress suspended funding for Secure Flight, a program that relied on the use of commercial data, after...
National Academy of Sciences to Undertake Independent Assessment of Airport Body Scanners
After years of pressure from political leaders, civil liberties and health advocates, including EPIC, there will be an independent review of the health risks posed by backscatter x-ray devices. A National Academy of Sciences committee will assess “whether exposures comply...
EPIC Urges Congress to Suspend Funding for Body Scanner Program
In a letter to Representatives Mike Rogers and Shelia Jackson-Lee, EPIC has asked Congress to suspend funding for the airport body scanner program until the TSA has completed a court-ordered public rulemaking. The letter follows a House oversight hearing where...
Congress to Scrutinize TSA's "Scanner Shuffle"
The House Subcommittee on Transportation Security is holding an oversight hearing this week, "TSA's Recent Scanner Shuffle: Real Strategy or Wasteful Smokescreen?" The hearing announcement follows a decision by the TSA to remove the backscatter x-ray devices from major US...
EPIC to Congress: Protect Privacy Against Drone Surveillance
EPIC participated in a Congressional Hearing on the Impact of Domestic Drone Use Technology on Privacy and Constitutional Rights of All Americans, held at Rice University in Houston, Texas. Congressman Ted Poe (R-TX), sponsor of H.R. 6449: Air Travelers' Bill...
TSA Unplugs, Boxes Up Airport Body Scanner X-ray Devices
Earlier this year, the TSA indicated that it would no longer purchase backscatter x-ray devices for deployment in US airports. A news story this week confirms that the TSA has ceased buying the "Whole Body Imaging" devices and is actively...
Court Responds to EPIC Petition, Expects Body Scanner Rule by March 2013
The Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit has issued a ruling on EPIC's recent petition regarding the controversial body scanner program. EPIC had urged the court to require the Secretary of Homeland Security to begin a public comment process...
EPIC Prevails in Mobile Body Scanner FOIA Case
A federal district court has awarded EPIC attorneys fees and costs in EPIC v. DHS, No, 11-945, a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit that resulted in the disclosure of information about the agency's plan to deploy body scanners at bus...
EPIC Pursues Body Scanner Case, Files Reply Brief
EPIC has filed a reply brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in the airport body scanner case. The case arises from EPIC's Mandamus Petition, seeking to enforce the Court's July 2011 order requiring the DHS...
New Congressional Report Recommends TSA Address Privacy and Health Concerns with Airport Bodyscanners
"Rebuilding TSA into a Smarter, Leaner Organization," a new House Report critiques the Transportation Security Administration for "failing to meet taxpayers' expectations." The report, prepared by the House Committee on Homeland Security, recommends that the TSA sponsor "an independent analysis"...
2012 Republican Platform Addresses Privacy and Government Surveillance
The 2012 Republican Party Platform calls for strong Constitutional protections for privacy and new safeguards for personal data held by businesses. "We will ensure that personal data receives full constitutional protection from government overreach and that individuals retain the right...
White House Pulls Down TSA Petition
At approximately 11:30 am EDT, the White House removed a petition about the TSA airport screening procedures from the White House "We the People" website. About 22,500 of the 25,000 signatures necessary for a response from the Administration were obtained...
