EPIC Sues Homeland Security – Body Scanners are Invasive

The more I look at these airport body scanners, the more I see what a scam they are. We were promised that they would not store or transmit data, in an attempt to ease privacy concerns. Now we see that this was pure bullshit. We see that Homeland Security lied to us.

Well these thugs have been dished a lawsuit and I hope that the plaintiff is successful in ridding these devices from our midst. They are more than invasive. They are a soft-kill weapon. The more you fly, the more scans you receive, the greater the risk of cancer. Couple that with the fact that you are exposing yourself to strangers and some of these people have been proven to be scum.

The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) has filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security to suspend the deployment of body scanners at US airports, pending an independent review.

From their website:

EPIC has filed a lawsuit to suspend the deployment of body scanners at US airports, pending an independent review. Body scanners produce detailed, three-dimensional images of individuals. Security experts have described whole body scanners as the equivalent of “a physically invasive strip-search.” The Transportation Security Administration operates the body scanner devices at airports throughout the United States. On July 2, 2010, EPIC filed a petition for review and motion for an emergency stay, urging the District of Columbia Court of Appeals to suspend the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) full body scanner program. EPIC said that the program is “unlawful, invasive, and ineffective.” EPIC argued that the federal agency has violated the Administrative Procedures Act, the Privacy Act, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, and the Fourth Amendment. EPIC cited the invasive nature of the devices, the TSA’s disregard of public opinion, and the impact on religious freedom.

This is one small step in the info war but a step in the right direction. Let’s hope that they succeed and that this does not become an EPIC fail.

Litigation Documents:

Litigation Documents

EPIC v. the Department of Homeland Security, Case No. 10-1157 (D.C. Cir. filed July 2, 2010).

• EPIC’s Petition for Review(pdf)
• EPIC’s Motion for Emergency Stay(pdf)
  • Exhibit 1: EPIC: Petition to the DHS Regarding Body Scanners, May 31, 2009
  • Exhibit 2: TSA: Letter to EPIC, June 19, 2009
  • Exhibit 3: EPIC: Petition to DHS Regarding Body Scanners, April 21, 2010
  • Exhibit 4: TSA: Letter to EPIC, May 28, 2010
  • Declaration of Petitioner Bruce Schneier
• Department of Homeland Security’s Opposition to EPIC’s Emergency Motion(pdf)
  • Exhibit 1: Privacy Impact Assessment, January 2, 2008
  • Exhibit 2: Privacy Impact Assessment, July 23, 2009
  • Exhibit 3: Privacy Impact Assessment, August 17, 2008
  • Exhibit 4: Backscatter Sign
  • Exhibit 5: Millimeter Wave Sign
• EPIC’s Reply(pdf)
  • Exhibit 1: Image from Body Scanner Machine
  • Exhibit 2: USA Today: Backlash Grows Against Full Body Scanners in Airports
  • Exhibit 3: TSA Operational Requirements
  • Exhibit 4: TSA: Procurement Specifications

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