Canada set to install scanners of its own at 9 airports
Concerns that full body scanners in airports violate British child pornography laws could result in those under the age of 18 being exempt from the screening or a delay in their introduction as the law is changed. A UK children’s rights group has claimed the images generated by the machines are so graphic they amount to “virtual strip-searching” and have called for safeguards to protect passengers’ privacy, among them reassurances the images won’t end up on the Internet. The Department for Transport confirmed that the “child porn” problem was among the “legal and operational issues” now under discussion in Parliament. A 12-month trial of the scanners at Manchester airport which reveal naked images of passengers including their genitalia and breast enlargements, only went ahead last month after under-18s were exempted. Meanwhile, in Canada, the federal government is pressing ahead with plans to install full-body scanners at international airports in Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Halifax. The move is reportedly in response to increasing pressure from American authorities to step up security operations at airports worldwide.