The Naked Truth Raises Privacy Concerns Across The Pond As Well

Monday, we told you about a TSA demonstration of new "backscatter" X-ray technology -- the kind that can see everything -- and we mean EVERYTHING -- when a person walks through the scanner. While that technology is being displayed here in the States with promises that it won't be used until screeners can either come up with some sort of electronic fig leaf or hide the scanner from public view, the technology is already at work in London's Heathrow Airport. And yes, passengers in Terminal 4 are understandably red-faced.

In the UK, the scan is strictly random and voluntary. Passengers who refuse to star in their own display of personal attributes are, however, subject to pat down. And therein lies the motivation to be scanned.

"It was really horrible," said one unnamed female passenger in an interview with the Sunday Times of London. "It doesn’t leave much to the imagination because you’re virtually naked, but I guess it’s less intrusive than being hand searched."

"I was quite shocked by what I saw," said a male passenger. "I felt a bit embarrassed looking at the image."

The system was tried out in Orlando (FL) last year. About a quarter of the passengers who saw a representation of the scan before walking through the device themselves refused to go through with it. While British authorities say they may deploy the backscatter technology throughout the UK as soon as the trial is successfully concluded.

FMI: www.baa.co.uk