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TSA agents will soon conduct a more invasive patdown at U.S. airports:
The U.S. Transportation Security Administration has declined to say exactly where—and how—employees will be touching air travelers as part of the more invasive physical pat-down procedure it recently ordered. But the agency does expect some passengers to consider the examination unusual. In fact, the TSA decided to inform local police in case anyone calls to report an "abnormal" federal frisking, according to a memo from an airport trade association obtained by Bloomberg News. The physical search, for those selected to have one, is what the agency described as a more "comprehensive" screening, replacing five separate kinds of pat-downs it previously used.
The decision to alert local and airport police raises a question of just how intimate the agency's employees may get. On its website, the TSA says employees "use the back of the hands for pat-downs over sensitive areas of the body. In limited cases, additional screening involving a sensitive area pat-down with the front of the hand may be needed to determine that a threat does not exist."
[...] The TSA's calls to police were an effort to provide local law enforcement "situational awareness" about the new pat-down method, Christopher Bidwell, ACI-NA's vice president of security, said in an interview Saturday. U.S. airports have not expressed any reservations or concerns about the pat-down change, the association said.
Also at Boing Boing, The Consumerist, NBC, and LA Times.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 07 2017, @06:27PM (3 children)
Have you traveled through those countries? I have not, and I am actually curious whether they are as intrusive and orwellian as the US has become.
(Score: 2) by edIII on Tuesday March 07 2017, @08:18PM
I traveled through China. They were still acting like it was the 1970's as far as the "TSA" was concerned. I had an issue with some small granular rocks at one point and the agent took MY lighter and tried setting them on fire. Once they didn't light up, or act like gunpowder or something, he waived me right through.
I say this with sincerity. Other than the small fucking planes that made me feel like a giant, the customer service atmosphere in the middle of China is far superior than what we have in "free" America.
Technically, lunchtime is at any moment. It's just a wave function.
(Score: 2) by gawdonblue on Tuesday March 07 2017, @09:37PM (1 child)
I went to both Russia and China for work a few years ago.
In China I'd left some aerosol deodorant in my checked luggage and got a call from the airport officials. I didn't know what the call was about but presented myself to some unhappy-looking uniforms who showed me the x-ray and asked what it was. After I told them they asked me to open the bag and remove it. I apologised and did so. They sternly warned me not to do it again. I felt that it was a deserved lesson, so no problems with the Chinese airport security.
When I was leaving Russia I, like every other passenger, was forced to take off my shoes and stand in an X-ray booth with my arms in the air. I did not enjoy this treatment. I will never fly from Russia again.
I've never been to the USA but had thought that I probably would one day. My mind has very much changed over the last 15 years as the actions at the USA borders have got worse and worse. I'd like to cross North America off my continents visited list, but it'll be either a foodies tour of Mexico or a sightseeing tour of Canada.
(Score: 1) by chair on Tuesday March 07 2017, @10:41PM
I recommend you skip flying in Canada, as my experience with airport security there was about the same as in the USA, which was similar to your experience in Russia.