ETHICS OF AIRPORT SECURITY Ethics of airport security

Ethics of airport security

Introduction

Since the September 11 attacks, airport security has significantly changed and further strengthened to prevent possible terrorist's attacks. The measure has been taken to cut down the risk, and threats emerging from terrorists activities. One of the measures is the adoption of biometric body scanners, which are now widely used in airports as an additional security measure (Pries, 2010). However, their deployment has given rise to ethical and legal concerns among researchers, civil servants and public policy-makers. One common question among critics is why is there no outrage?  People seem surprisingly satisfied when it comes to allowing strangers to see their 'naked bodies'. Why is this? The following quote from the Independent struck me as particularly interesting, as it seems to hold true for many people.

“They can show what they scan of me on 1,000-inch screens throughout the airport for all I care. They would not bother of course. I know the limits of my appeal. […] ...are we supposed to care? Where the soul has already been sold cheaply, should we waste our outrage on the selling of a body? Is privacy really a concern for us? Reader, he who fights to protect our privacy in the age of television is defending what almost nobody any longer wants.”Moreover, if the image is so far away from us (physically), and we will probably never see the image even if it could be stored on a database permanently, why would it bother us? The technology comes with promises of more security and efficiency at airports.  Is this enough to override any ethical concerns we may have about the technology?

Discussion

Since such technological changes have taken place in airport security, the media over the recent months have been doing controversial coverage on issues surrounding the body scanners. However, in some ways, it seems like cases of different perceptions, which is too little too late.  Although security in airports and on board aircraft is of utmost importance in the aftermath of 9/11, and a number of other attempted terrorist attacks, it could be said that governments have rushed into the use of these scanners without a second thought for some of the serious ethical concerns surrounding their use.  Furthermore, it needs to be questioned whether the level of security they achieve, justifies a neglect of previous values and of laws.  Firstly, the machines are unable to detect plastics or chemicals, so already it can be seen that the machines would have provided no protection from the threat of the liquid bombers, nor would they have provided any security from the threat of syringe bomber. The case of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab on Christmas Day 2009 is a prominent example. There has also been discussion in the British press over the breaching of law. The images produced by the body scanners are extremely graphic, so much so that genitalia and even breast implants are visible on the images.  It has been suggested that this is a serious breach ...