TSA begins testing body scans that are less revealing

Comments

By Michael Winter, USA TODAY

Updated

Travelers passing through Las Vegas today have been scanned by new software that produces less-revealing body images, the Transportation Security Administration says.

The new scanning "enhances privacy by eliminating passenger-specific images and instead auto-detects potential threat items and indicates their location on a generic outline of a person," the TSA said in its announcement.

The TSA began testing the "advanced imaging technology" at McCarran International Airport following months of protests from passengers who said the full-body scans invaded their privacy. In the coming days the software will be used at Hartsfield-Jackson hub in Atlanta and at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.

About Doug Stanglin

Doug is an unrepentant news junkie who loves breaking news and has been known to watch C-SPAN even on vacation. He has covered a wide range of domestic and international news stories, from prison riots in Oklahoma to the Moscow coup against Mikhail Gorbachev. Doug previously served as foreign editor at USA TODAY. More about Doug

About Michael Winter

Michael Winter has been a daily contributor to On Deadline since its debut in January 2006. His journalism career began in the prehistoric Ink Era, and he was an early adapter at the dawn of the Digital Age. His varied experience includes editing at the San Jose Mercury News and The Philadelphia Inquirer.