The end of 'naked scanners'?

Thanks to new less intrusive software, TSA security agents will no longer see revealing images of travelers. Will that silence the "invasion of privacy" outcry?

The TSA's controversial airport scanners are getting an upgrade that will render passengers' bodies as cartoon images to better preserve privacy.
(Image credit: MATTHEW CAVANAUGH/epa/Corbis)

The Transportation Security Administration announced last week that airport scanners will no longer show images of travelers' naked bodies to security officers. Instead, thanks to a software upgrade, the scanners will "auto-detect items that could pose a potential threat" and display them on a generic, family-friendly cartoon image that the passenger himself can see. Is the nationwide "naked scanner" privacy scare officially over?

The peep show ends now: All the critics wanted was for the TSA to "find a way to simultaneously protect lives and preserve privacy," says the Chicago Tribune in an editorial. And it looks like the much-maligned agency has done just that. The scanners will still detect anything a suspicious passenger is trying to hide, but without "the peep show element." And now that the TSA agents scrutinizing the images won't be off in some other room, security lines should move faster.

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