The old airport body scanners were once widely criticized as “virtual strip searches,” a label that captured public unease more than technical nuance—but not without reason. Anyone who has passed through airport security knows the uneasy pause that comes with stepping into a scanner, arms raised, instructions barked through glass. Today the discomfort is mostly psychological. In the early 2010s, however, it was far more literal. For a brief period, some passengers were unknowingly subjected to imaging technology that revealed far more than most people believed acceptable. Following the 2009 Christmas Day bombing attempt, the Transportation Security Administration accelerated the...
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