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J Transp Secur (2015) 8:116
DOI 10.1007/s12198-014-0151-5
Thomas W. Dillon & Daphyne S. Thomas
Received: 16 July 2014 /Accepted: 5 August 2014 /Published online: 16 November 2014 # Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014
Abstract The rising concern about security and safety when traveling has been accompanied by an increased concern in the need for privacy. Expectations of privacy center around the right of the individual to determine what information is shared, the right of the individual to know what data is disclosed and collected and the legitimacy of the government to monitor and evaluate a citizens activities. This paper examines the legal privacy issues and the attitudes toward body scanning. Through the use of a survey, attitudes of air travelers were evaluated in terms of their responses to issues of body scanning acceptability, saving body scanned images, and protecting modesty of the traveler when scanning body images. Findings show that most of the U.S. population is accepting of full-body scanning when modesty measures are utilized. Though care should be taken when minority populations, both race and religion, are engaged in the full-body scanning process at an airport.
Keywords Airport . Body scanning . 4th amendment . Security. Privacy. Religion . Transportation . Saved images . Protecting modesty
Introduction
Americas Fourth Amendment rights are being called into question as the federal government balances its obligation to guard the nation from terrorist attacks and the publics constitutional right to privacy. The privacy debate centers on the Department of Homeland Securitys use of full-body scanners to screen passengers at the nations major airports. The U.S. Constitution states that the rights of the people to be secure in
T. W. Dillon (*)
Computer Information Systems & Business Analytics, College of Business, James Madison University,
214 Showker Hall, Harrisonburg, VA 22807, USA
e-mail: dillontw@jmu.edu
D. S. Thomas
Finance & Business Law, College of Business, James Madison University, 314 Showker Hall,
Harrisonburg, VA 22807, USA
e-mail: thomasds@jmu.edu
Airport body scanning: will the American public finally accept?
2 T.W. Dillon, D.S. Thomas
their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause. But thus far the courts have ruled that passenger airport screening is a reasonable cost...