HeHateY

Of course no parent should allow a child to receive the high dose of harmful radiation while still growing, but if a minor (under the age of consent) was to pose for the CCTV strip search, wouldn't the TSA "officer" have to be immediately arrested for viewing and posessing kiddie porn??

eyecue

The person viewing the image cannot see any of the sexual parts of the body, right now the process is voluntary if you dont want it you dont have to have it and it will probably remain that way and finally, there is the issue of intent. So in a nutshell no charges are able to be brought.

LarryJ

The radiation exposure is comparable to what you recieve in two minutes of flying at 30,000'. If that's too much radiation then the child shouldn't be allowed on the airplane where they will receive a much higher dose.

bocastephen

The dosage counts are speculation - the only viable source for this information is Sandia Nat'l Labs, which is certainly not going to be a trustworthy unbiased source of information for something like this.

Use the backscatter if you want. More power to you. I certainly won't be going anywhere near it.

cpx

I don't plan to get anywhere near it either.

MKEbound

So was shoe removal.

Travellin' Fool

Them: Sir, we highly suggest you go through the back-scatter.

Me: Thanks, I'll pass?

Them: Sir you can't get into the terminal without going through the backscatter. But you don't have to, we just highly suggest it.

Me: What? I'm confused. So I do have to.

Them: No you do not. And by no we mean yes.

jonesing

^
Sad if it wasn't true!

exerda

The other way it could go:

Me: So, wait, is it voluntary or not?
Them: It's voluntary in that you can choose whether or not to fly today.

osxanalyst

How did I know that this thread was going to go down this path...

Texas_Dawg

Speaking of voluntary... It would be interesting to see what would happen if the TSA allowed airlines the choice of whether or not to make their passengers go through TSA screening stations. (For example, in screening areas that led to gates managed by only one airline.)

Of course, the TSA would never allow this because they know one airline would eventually take advantage of the TSA's going voluntary and tell the TSA to get lost altogether. They'd replace them with some much milder screening process, or, none at all, and see their business go up significantly as they are able to lower ticket prices by the amount they are forced to pay the TSA. Other airlines would follow then follow suit, and the TSA ponzi scheme would be exposed.

The back-scatter might be voluntary now (if that's even true), but it won't be for long. The TSA cannot allow any voluntary. Voluntary is a serious threat to its power and therefore, more importantly, revenue stream.

rebadc

Unaccompanied minors do not get to choose, they get the patdown.

Minors travelling with parents get the parents choice.

doober

Which says what about the backscatter?

LAY

As a side (by not much) note, upon taking the Oath for Naturalization, the folks are told (there used to be a pamphlet) that the US Taxation System is voluntary. Which is true, you can pay or go to jail, so there!

eyecue

You are sadly mistaken. The walkthrough metal detector is voluntary. You can opt for a full pat down instead. Right now the backscatter is very expensive to get. The reason that Phoenix has it is because of the connections that the FSD has in Washington. They are more expensive than the puffer. You only go through the backscatter there if you ring the walkthrough metal detector and want to be x-rayed. Otherwise it is the standard secondary screening process. BTW the backscatter can not see what is in shoes.