Date: Thu, 2 Apr 2009 13:49:40 -0400
From: "Kaiser, Philip" <Philip.Kaiser%AT%dhs.gov>
Subject: Photography at the Security Checkpoints
To: Phil Mocek

Mr. Mocek,

First off, thank you for taking the time to write to us with your question. As you know, TSA policy states that photography in and around the security checkpoint is permitted, so long as the action does not interfere with screening operations and that photos of our computer monitors are not taken. For specific local prohibitions, you will need to contact the City of Phoenix for specifics regarding photography within the airport. They can be reached at 602-273-3300. You can also email them using the contact link found at www.phxskyharbor.com .

Again, thank you for writing us and if you have any further questions feel free to contact us again.

Philip A. Kaiser
Customer Support Specialist
TSA-Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX)
Customer Service & Claims Management Team
Work: 602-794-3143
Cel: 571-268-4191

WARNING: The information in this email is confidential and may be legally privileged. Access to this email by anyone other than the intended addressee is unauthorized. If you are not the intended recipient of this message, any review, disclosure, copying, distribution, retention, or any action taken or omitted to be taken in reliance on it is prohibited and may be unlawful. If you are not the intended recipient, please reply to or forward a copy of this message to the sender and delete the message, any attachments, and any copies thereof from your system.

Date: Thu, 2 Apr 2009 11:27:54 -0700
From: Phil Mocek
Subject: Re: Photography at the Security Checkpoints [at PHX airport]
To: Philip Kaiser - TSA <Philip.Kaiser%AT%dhs.gov>
Cc: GotFeedback <Gotfeedback%AT%dhs.gov>

Mr. Kaiser:

You're very welcome. Thank you for responding.

Please allow me to correct your description of my knowledge of TSA policy. While I have, as you assumed, been informed that TSA policy does not prohibit photography in and around airport security checkpoints or anywhere else at airports that is publicly-accessible, I do not know that TSA policy prohibits photos of your computer monitors. In fact, it is my understanding that there is no such nation-wide TSA policy. Your colleague Bob Burns at TSA published information on Tuesday, March 31, 2009, indicating that such photography was discouraged but not prohibited. Additionally, I have received responses from TSA representatives of 17 other major U.S. airports to the same question posed to you, and 15 of them confirmed that non-commercial photography in publicly-accessible areas of their airports is not prohibited as long as it does not interfere with airport and TSA operations. Only two even mentioned computer monitors. I await clarification from them.

Mr. Burns at TSA also wrote, "while the TSA does not prohibit photographs at screening locations, local laws, state statutes, or local ordinances might. Your best bet is to call ahead and see what that specific airport's policy is. I suggest you use the Got Feedback program to directly contact the Customer Support Manager at the airport you're going to be traveling through. They will have an answer for you and if they don't, they can connect you with somebody who does."

I took his suggestion and contacted TSA via the TSA "Got Feedback?" form. You replied via e-mail. You did not refute Mr. Burns' claim, and you did not mention any applicable laws, statutes, or local ordinances. I take this to mean that you are in agreement with the information Mr. Burns published and also that you are unaware of any applicable laws, statutes, or ordinances. Please correct me if I'm mistaken. I understand that this is simply the best of your knowledge, not an authoritative answer to the question of whether any such laws, statutes, or ordinances apply the airport where you are employed as TSA's Customer Support Specialist.

Since Mr. Burns at TSA wrote that if you at TSA's "Got Feedback?" program did not have an answer to questions related to his blog post, you could connect us with someone who does, could you please provide contact information for a specific person, possibly from Phoenix municipal government as you suggested, who will have an answer? I want to be sure I contact someone who is an authoritative source for the information, and I don't want to waste other people's time asking them questions they can't answer.

Thank you for your continued assistance.

--
Phil Mocek

Date: Fri, 3 Apr 2009 17:40:55 -0400
From: "Kaiser, Philip" <Philip.Kaiser%AT%dhs.gov>
Subject: RE: Photography at the Security Checkpoints [at PHX airport]
To: Phil Mocek

Mr. Mocek,

Just so you know that I have not forgotten about your email, I wanted to give you a status update on your inquiry. I forwarded your email to our contact with the City of Phoenix. They will be contacting you shortly and they should be able to provide you with the answers you are looking for.

If you have any further questions or are in need of any other assistance, feel free to call or write me anytime.

Thanks again for your patience.

Philip A. Kaiser
Customer Support Specialist
TSA-Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX)
Customer Service & Claims Management Team
Work: 602-794-3143
Cel: 571-268-4191

Date: Fri, 3 Apr 2009 15:55:44 -0700
From: Phil Mocek
Subject: Re: Photography at the Security Checkpoints [at PHX airport]
To: Philip Kaiser - TSA <Philip.Kaiser%AT%dhs.gov>
Cc: GotFeedback <Gotfeedback%AT%dhs.gov>

Thank you very much for the status update, and for contacting the City of Phoenix on my behalf.

You might be interested to know that of the 50 airports for which I submitted this question three days ago, only you and 18 of your counterparts at other airports have responded, and only about half of those has yet provided the information that Bob Burns at TSA claimed would be made available via "Got Feedback?" query.

--
Phil Mocek

Date: Fri, 3 Apr 2009 17:13:45 -0700
From: alisa.smith%AT%phoenix.gov
Subject: Fw: Photography at the Security Checkpoints [at PHX airport]
To: Phil Mocek
Cc: Philip.Kaiser%AT%dhs.gov

Mr. Mocek,

Phillip Kaiser from the TSA forwarded your email and asked that I, on behalf of the City of Phoenix Aviation Department, respond to your inquiry regarding photography at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.

There is a City of Phoenix policy that applies to commercial photography inside the airport which requires special permitting. However, if you plan to take photographs of the airport and wish to do that as more than just as a casual traveler, please contact us directly so that we can inform our Operations and Police personnel of your presence.

If you have further questions about TSA policies, please contact their Public Affairs Office directly: Dwayne Baird 801-606-6009.

Please let me know if you have any additional questions regarding Sky Harbor.

Regards,

Alisa Nakashima-Smith
Customer Service Manager
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport
602.273.8874 (office)

America's Friendliest Airport ?

Date: Fri, 3 Apr 2009 17:30:47 -0700
From: Phil Mocek
Subject: Re: Photography at the Security Checkpoints [at PHX airport]
To: Alisa Nakamisha-Smith - City of Phoenix <alisa.smith%AT%phoenix.gov>
Cc: GotFeedback <Gotfeedback%AT%dhs.gov>, Philip Kaiser - TSA <Philip.Kaiser%AT%dhs.gov>

Thank you, Ms. Nakashima-Smith, for your prompt response.

At this time, I am not interested in what I would consider commercial photography, only in helping people understand what their rights are and avoiding conflict with over-zealous security guards and police who might erroneously equate photography in public places with wrongdoing.

How does the City of Phoenix define "commercial photography"? I hate to split hairs, but I'm concerned that others might. I'm a computer programmer, not a professional photographer, but I don't wear a badge proclaiming my profession. If I'm in an airport photographing or video recording something of interest to me or other people, how will airport staff determine whether or not my actions are commercial in nature and thus whether my activity is restricted or something that I need not speak to them about?

Is a copy of the City of Phoenix policy to which you referred available on the Web?

Also, thank you for the referral to Dwayne Baird at the TSA Public Affairs Office. Philip A. Kaiser, Customer Support Specialist, has already confirmed that TSA do not restrict photography in the airport unless it interferes with TSA operations, although there does seem to be some conflict over whether photography of computer monitors at TSA's search stations -- those that are visible to the public -- is prohibited or simply discouraged.

--
Phil Mocek

Subject: RE: Photography at the Security Checkpoints [at PHX airport]
Date: Wed, 8 Apr 2009 17:55:40 -0400
From: "Kaiser, Philip" <Philip.Kaiser%AT%dhs.gov>
To: Phil Mocek

Mr. Mocek,

It may interest you that I took a few minutes to view your blog concerning your photography questions. I was very intrigued with the responses that you have gathered so far from the various cities. I hope that our referral to the City of Phoenix has cleared any questions you may have had, and I hope that we, PHX-TSA, have also.

I also happened to noticed that my name and e-mail was posted within your blog. As, a government employee, working in a position of customer service, this posting was expected, but I would like to ask that your readers please use this contact information responsibly. We try to accommodate every email and telephone inquiry to the best of our ability in our customer service department, and an influx of erroneous and petty emails and calls will only hinder our ability to help those that are in actual need of assistance.

With that being said, feel free to contact me directly at any time. Thank you again for writing us and I hope that I have helped!

Sincerely,

Philip A. Kaiser
Customer Support Specialist
TSA-Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX)
Customer Service & Claims Management Team
Work: 602-794-3143
Cel: 571-268-4191

WARNING: The information in this email is confidential and may be legally privileged. Access to this email by anyone other than the intended addressee is unauthorized. If you are not the intended recipient of this message, any review, disclosure, copying, distribution, retention, or any action taken or omitted to be taken in reliance on it is prohibited and may be unlawful. If you are not the intended recipient, please reply to or forward a copy of this message to the sender and delete the message, any attachments, and any copies thereof from your system.

Date: Wed, 8 Apr 2009 16:05:18 -0700
From: Phil Mocek
Subject: Re: Photography at the Security Checkpoints [at PHX airport]
To: Philip Kaiser - TSA <Philip.Kaiser%AT%dhs.gov>
Cc: GotFeedback <Gotfeedback%AT%dhs.gov>

You have helped. Thank you.

Actually, the Web site where I've been publishing my findings is FlyerTalk Forums, which is sort of a bulletin board for people who fly a lot to post and discuss information about air travel. I don't have any control over it or its users, but I definitely support the avoidance of nuisance contact. You're free to join in that discussion as well. It's open to anyone.

Your referral to the City of Phoenix was at first helpful, but since I replied to Ms. Nakashima-Smith's April 3 e-mail about 15 minutes after receiving it and posing two followup questions (How does the city define "commercial photography" and is a copy of the policy she described available on the Web?), I have received no response from her.

I don't have a lot of time to devote to this project, so I've yet to nudge the many people from whom I still await responses.

In case you're interested, yesterday evening, I posted a summary of the more concerning responses I received from you and your counterparts at other airports. You can find that here: <http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/travel-safety-security/938543-pv-alert-can-i-take-photos-checkpoint-airport-post11545668.html#post11545668>

An index of all airport representative's responses is available at <http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/travel-safety-security/938543-pv-alert-can-i-take-photos-checkpoint-airport-post11507668.html#post11507668>

--
Phil Mocek

Date: Wed, 8 Apr 2009 19:10:37 -0400
From: "Kaiser, Philip" <Philip.Kaiser%AT%dhs.gov>
Subject: RE: Photography at the Security Checkpoints [at PHX airport]
To: Phil Mocek

I'm glad I could be of assistance. Actually, the forum I was referring to was, Flyer Talk, not the TSA Blog. I heard you mention it previously and being a former airline guy and married to an airline gal, I drop in there from time to time to see what's what anyway. It's healthy to get a different perspective on things from time to time.

Philip A. Kaiser
Customer Support Specialist
TSA-Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX)
Customer Service & Claims Management Team
Work: 602-794-3143
Cel: 571-268-4191

WARNING: The information in this email is confidential and may be legally privileged. Access to this email by anyone other than the intended addressee is unauthorized. If you are not the intended recipient of this message, any review, disclosure, copying, distribution, retention, or any action taken or omitted to be taken in reliance on it is prohibited and may be unlawful. If you are not the intended recipient, please reply to or forward a copy of this message to the sender and delete the message, any attachments, and any copies thereof from your system.

Date: Tue, 14 Apr 2009 09:14:00 -0700
From: Phil Mocek
Subject: Re: Photography at the Security Checkpoints [at PHX airport]
To: Alisa Nakamisha-Smith - City of Phoenix <alisa.smith%AT%phoenix.gov>
Cc: GotFeedback <Gotfeedback%AT%dhs.gov>,
Philip Kaiser - TSA <Philip.Kaiser%AT%dhs.gov>

Ms. Nakashima-Smith, I have received no further contact from you. Are you able to provide the information I have requested?

--
Phil Mocek

Date: Tue, 14 Apr 2009 11:02:04 -0700
From: richard.anderson%AT%phoenix.gov
Subject: Fw: Photography at the Security Checkpoints [at PHX airport]
To: Phil Mocek
Cc: alisa.smith%AT%phoenix.gov

Good morning, Mr. Mocek--

Lisa asked me to look into this matter for her and, today, asked that I send you information on what I found. I had a conversation with our Operations Division to see what information they have on the subject. There are really two aspects of this issue that come into play.

First, what I understand is that the TSA really doesn't have a problem with photographs/video of the screening areas, provided that it doesn't interfere with what they are doing, with two exceptions. They will not allow pictures/video of their equipment, including the monitor screens and, if the photography/videoing goes on for an extended time, they might have a problem with that depending on the situation. Any further clarification on that will have to come from the TSA.

The City of Phoenix, which we (the Aviation Department) are a part of, only regulates commercial filming like motion pictures productions, filming of commercials, etc. In other words, photography/video for commercial purposes. This is outlined in the Phoenix City Code, Part II, Chapter 10, Article VIII. You can read that portion of the Code on the City's website, www phoenix.gov. In order to outline for the Aviation Department the procedures for complying with the Code, we have an Administrative Regulation on the subject. I'm attaching a copy of that for you to read. We have no problem with people taking pictures/video on the airport other than for commercial purposes unless, in rare circumstances, the activity somehow creates a disturbance or interferes with the flow of passengers or other operational aspects of the airport. As a courtesy to us, and to make it easier for the photographer, we do recommend that people let us know in advance when they want to take some pictures/video at the airport (other than a family taking routine pictures of an arriving/departing relative) so that we are aware of them doing that. Invariably, we will get a call about someone standing in a parking garage taking pictures of airplanes (seems to be a hobby of many people). When we know about that in advance, we don't have to hassle the person by sending someone up to check on them.

Hope that helps a bit. Let us know if you need more information.

Dick Anderson
Public Relations Division
City of Phoenix Aviation Department



----- Forwarded by Richard Anderson/AVN/PHX on 04/14/2009 10:28 AM -----

Alisa Smith/AVN/PHX
04/14/2009 10:04 AM

To: richard.anderson%AT%phoenix.gov
cc:
Subject: Fw: Photography at the Security Checkpoints [at PHX airport]

Dick,

Since I am facilitating training all day, can you respond to Mr. Mocek and copy me with the findings that we discussed yesterday? Thank you!

Alisa Nakashima-Smith
Customer Service Manager
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport
602.273.8874 (office)

America's Friendliest Airport ???

Date: Tue, 14 Apr 2009 11:23:34 -0700
From: Phil Mocek
Subject: Re: Photography at the Security Checkpoints [at PHX airport]
To: Richard Anderson - City of Phoenix <richard.anderson%AT%phoenix.gov>
Cc: GotFeedback <Gotfeedback%AT%dhs.gov>,
Philip Kaiser - TSA <Philip.Kaiser%AT%dhs.gov>,
Alisa Smith - City of Phoenix <alisa.smith%AT%phoenix.gov>

Thank you, Mr. Anderson.

I am not aware of any TSA policy that prohibits photos of their computer monitors. Bob Burns at TSA published information on Tuesday, March 31, 2009, indicating that such photography was discouraged but not prohibited. Additionally, I have received responses from multiple (15+) TSA representatives of other major U.S. airports confirmed that non-commercial photography in publicly-accessible areas of their airports is not prohibited as long as it does not interfere with airport and TSA operations.

I understand that for an authoritative source of information about TSA policies I will need to discuss the matter with TSA, but I'm curious about your own understanding of the situation.

Is it your understanding that it is unlawful to photograph TSA's equipment, or simply a policy that they enforce by way of disallowing people who violate their policy from passing the checkpoint? In either case, could you please cite the law or policy so that I can read it and ensure that I am in compliance with it?

--
Phil Mocek