Hamburg airport launches trial run for body scanners amid privacy concerns
On 27.9. 2010. something happened in Hamburg that might change the whole of German aviation rules: At Hamburg airport the first body scanners were tried out, entering a public test phase with Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière at the forefront.
At first glance, it does not seem to be such a big deal. The system uses low frequency electromagnetic waves which are considered relatively safe applied on the human body. So, when launching the new system after having passed through the cabin to be scanned, de Maizière commented that he did not feel unpleasant or impeded by the system at all.
The US and a number of other European countries have been using body scanners for quite some time in their effort to fight terrorism: The scanners help detecting any weapons or explosives that might be carried on board the aircraft. This is all fair and understandable as September, 11 is stuck in the world´s common awareness. Yet, there are other systems like the “traditional” body check carried out by the personnel at the airport, a scan of the hand luggage (sometimes not too pleasant, either), but scanning the whole of a person`s body is new in Germany and it s met with considerable reservations, or even protests from data protection specialists such as Peter Schaar.
The whole thing is not so much about the harmfulness or a lack thereof of the waves but about people feeling “scanned” as a whole, in principle stripped naked. An unpleasant feeling of the famous Big Brother being allowed to see through your every motion (and thoughts, in the end?).
Hamburg is first but this is not the last we will hear about it!
category: Uncategorized
September 30th, 2010
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