UK airport scanners could break child porn laws
LONDON: The British Government said Tuesday it was working to allay
fears that body scanners being introduced at Airports would break laws
against creating indecent images of children.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown said this week Heathrow and other British
Airports will introduce body scanners, as part of efforts by countries
to tighten security following the failed US airliner bomb plot on
Christmas Day.
Privacy campaigners told the Guardian that the images created by the
machines were so graphic they amounted to virtual strip searching and
have called for
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Some countries, led by the United States, have announced
additional security measures at airports since a Nigerian man
was charged with trying to blow up a US-bound jet on December
25. Reuters |
safeguards to protect the privacy of passengers involved.Terri Dowty,
of civil rights group Action On Rights For Children, said the scanners
could breach child protection laws, which made it illegal to create an
indecent image or a pseudo-image of a child.
They do not have the legal power to use full body scanners in this
way, she told the newspaper in comments published Tuesday.
A Department for Transport Spokesman said a code of practice was
being drawn up for airport staff who will use the scanners.
We understand the concerns expressed about privacy in relation to the
deployment of body scanners, he said.
It is vital staff are properly trained and we are developing a code
of practice to ensure these concerns are properly taken into account.
Existing safeguards also mean those operating scanners are separated
from the device, so unable to see the person to whom the image relates,
and these anonymous images are deleted immediately, he added.
Some countries, led by the United States, have announced additional
security measures at airports since a Nigerian man was charged with
trying to blow up a US-bound jet on December 25.
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, reportedly confessed to being trained
by an Al-Qaida bombmaker in Yemen for the suicide mission on the
Northwest Airlines flight from Amsterdam to Detroit.
It was foiled when explosives allegedly sewn into the mans underwear
failed to detonate, and passengers jumped on him. -
Dawn.com |
