Media outlets keep pushing misleading headlines and people keep repeating false reports that "the scanners are being removed from airports." No, they're not. As I wrote last Friday [1], only the scanners manufactured by Rapiscan are being removed from U.S. airports (they were never used in the EU, where they are banned).
The easily foiled [2] strip-search scanners are now and will continue to be used in American airports.
Both types of scanners -- the millimeter-wave scanners and the radiation-emitting backscatter scanners -- are untested. They are untested for safety. The Rapiscan scanners are being removed only because the TSA couldn’t meet the Congressionally mandated deadline for installing so-called “privacy enhancement” software. Not because of safety concerns.
In addition, the TSA has signed contracts with two companies to buy more scanners [3]. Including backscatter scanners. Your tax dollars at work.
Don’t believe the hype. The TSA isn’t removing scanners from airports. Read the facts.
And for the umpteenth time, just because you acquiesce to the scanner doesn't mean you won't also be hauled aside for a grope. The two aren't mutually exclusive.
Regardless of the safety concerns, which are legitimate, every time you step into one of those things and raise your arms, you are saying, "Thank you for treating me like a criminal. I surrender." Congratulations.