TSA 'enhanced patdowns': Too invasive?

Next time you fly, you might have to choose between a revealing body scan or a frisky body search by a TSA officer. Is there an Option C?

The new TSA body searches take a "front-of-the-hand, slide down" approach.
(Image credit: Getty)

Privacy advocates concerned about the new full-body scanners being rolled out at airports nationwide now have an alternative: "touchy-feely" patdowns, reports the Boston Herald. Those who opt not to go through the scanners will be subject to a "front-of-the-hand, slide-down" body search, including around breast and genitals, from a TSA agent of the same sex. Are these new "enhanced patdowns" really necessary for air safety, or are they "an example of Big Brother run amok"?

The TSA is taking too many liberties: A grope or a peek — why are air travelers forced to make "a fool's choice between one form of privacy invasion and another"? asks Carl Unger in Smarter Travel. "A conspiracist may offer that it's all security theater," a way to remind both "innocent civilians and potential criminals" that the TSA is on the job. Whatever the rationale, it's not enough to justify usurping "our rights to privacy and decency."

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