FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - PV Alert: Can I Take Photos at the Checkpoint and Airport?
Old Sep 26, 2009, 10:50 am
  #154  
ND Sol
 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Houston
Posts: 8,956
Originally Posted by goalie
any chance you have this in writing and could possibly, upload it (with your personal information blacked out of course ). it would be nice to include in my "traveling tsa folder"
I had many e-mail exchanges with the TSA at ISP and then out of the blue the TSA attorney called me and had to agree with the plain reading of the words. 1520 only applies to "covered persons" and passengers are not "covered persons." End of story.

Originally Posted by LuvAirFrance
My workplace, a data center for a large banking company, has the same sign. It was a rule implemented by the security department. They don't want people casing the joint and getting significant details photographically. Makes complete sense to me. Given the power of telephotos, I'd think you'd pretty much tell people to keep their cameras in the cases. I suppose its a bummer for travelers who want to show airports their friends'll never see, but when it comes right down to it, the global security threat has to take precedence sometimes.

Blame the conspirators if you need to place blame, not the people fighting them.
That is permissible for a private entity. We have this thing called the First Amendment in the United States. As such, the Government is very limited (and should be) in what restrictions can be implemented on photography where the public is permitted (i.e., no special security clearance). So in this case the blame is squarely placed on the Government for placing signs against doing something that is perfectly legal. If the US citizens don't like it, then get the First Amendment changed (hasn't happened in over 200 years, even the try for a flag burning amendment).

ISP said that TSA wanted the signs up and TSA said the signs were up before they were there and it was solely up to ISP to make the decision about the signs. When no legal support was found to exist, ISP made a good decision in removing the signs.

Originally Posted by yyzvoyageur
Why would anyone want to photograph an airport security checkpoint?
Why is this relevant to the conversation? That is not the question to be asked. The question to be asked is what law prohibits the taking of photographs at screening checkpoints.

Perhaps we should review the saying that many relate to First Amendment issues: “I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” Evelyn Beatrice Hall, under the pseudonym S. G. Tallentyre in her 1906 Voltaire biography "The Friends of Voltaire".
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