Thaindian News

By Madhuri Dey
Jan 6, (THAINDIAN NEWS) The latest terrorist attempt on the Northwest Airlines flight has triggered renewed questions on the security in airports. Consequently, it has also increased the amount of safety measures that are being taken in the airports. On the other hand, the latest safety measures that have been taken in the airports are facing an unprecedented problem, that of them violating child porn laws in the state. The new laws will most probably come into effect in about three weeks, according to the Home Secretary of the United Kingdom, Alan Johnson.

The latest safety measure to be introduced in the airports of the United Kingdom is the full body scanner. However, this has brought the government face to face with another problem; since the scanners lead to the creation of a fully naked body of the individual, it is being considered to be directly violating the child porn laws. Apparently, the images are so graphic that it is being considered that employing the machines might be a crime under the child protection act.

Campaigners have protested, demanding that some measure be taken to protect the privacy of the individuals. Moreover, in this age of the internet, the possibility of those images ending up in porn sites is also being considered. On the other hand, the authorities have insisted that the images of the scan would be deleted immediately. Following the protests, however, the government has been forced to rethink the implementation of the laws, and had to exempt those below the age of 18 years to be exempted from the scanner. Yet, this raises the possibility that this new law might give the potential terrorists a loophole.