Do millimeter wave systems invade personal privacy?

Brijot's Gen 2 System

Six U.S senators have raised questions about the U.S. Marshals Service using body scanning equipment at the U.S. Courthouse in Orlando, FL – and supposedly storing more than 35,000 of those body images -- but the Marshals Service is not backing down yet.

Instead, the Marshals Service has noted that it reports to the Department of Justice, not the Department of Homeland Security (which oversees the TSA and its much-debated use of whole body scanners at U.S. airports), and follows DoJ protocols.

The Marshals Service has also pointed out that it uses a passive millimeter wave system, manufactured by Brijot Imaging Systems, Inc., of Lake Mary, FL, rather than the Advanced Imaging Technology systems employed by TSA.

Brijot’s Gen 2 System automatically stores images to a hard drive and has the capacity to capture up to 40,000 events, explains Brijot on its Web site.

“The automated detection boxes assist the operator and reduce training required,” Brijot explains. “The image displayed does not reveal any anatomical details. You cannot tell if the subject is male or female,” the company continues. “Privacy is protected while safely and effectively detecting potential threats and contraband.”

The six senators, including Joe Lieberman (I-CT), the chairman, and Susan Collins (R-ME), the ranking Republican, on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, sent their letter, dated August 19, to John Clark, the Director of the Marshals Service.

The senators noted the usefulness of whole body scanners in general, but emphasized their concern for the privacy of visitors to the Orlando courthouse.

“The perception of whole body imaging scans differs greatly from that of security camera footage, and therefore demands a higher level of sensitivity to the legitimate privacy concerns of those being scanned,” said the senators.

The Marshals Service responded to the initial media brouhaha with a press release on August 5 that tried to set the record straight. The agency’s congressional relations office is now preparing a formal reply to the senators’ letter, according to Dave Oney, a Marshals Service spokesman who spoke with GSN on August 26.  

Oney suggested that the images captured by the Marshals Service in Orando do not represent an invasion of anyone’s privacy. “There’s no way they can be construed as a naked body,” he said.

The six senators want to hear from the Marshals Service about its use of such equipment anywhere in the country, and its practice of storing images.

The senators’ letter also had a piece of friendly advice: “We also encourage you to consider the use of automatic target recognition (ATR) software with all AITs [advanced imaging technology systems.] This auto-detection software addresses many of the privacy concerns raised by the AITs by eliminating the need for a federal security official to view images generated by scans,” said the senators.

The next move in this ongoing dialogue will probably be made by the Marshals Service.