Senator Tester Presents Airport Body-Scanner Bill

While Americans are preparing for one of the busiest travel weeks of the year, Senator Jon Tester is introducing legislation to protect privacy rights at airport security.

Many travelers are concerned that new high-tech scanners produce revealing body images.

On Thursday, Tester introduced a bill that would criminalize any misuse of airport body-scan images by federal employees.

“It’s incredibly important that people are safe when they’re flying and their privacy needs to be respected. That’s why we need to inject a little common sense into the screening process," said Tester.

The Transportation Security Administration forbids security screeners from saving or identifying body-scan images.

But Tester’s legislation would make it a federal crime to permanently photograph, record or distribute any image produced using a full-body scanner.

Federal employees who break the law would face up to one year in prison and a $100-thousand dollar fine under Tester’s legislation.