U.K. Airport Bans Nude X-ray Photos of Kids over Child Porn Fears

Airport security workers at Manchester Airport’s terminal 2 have been banned from subjecting minors to a new X-ray booth that sees passengers nude bodies through their clothing.

The device, a booth that passengers stand in while electromagnetic rays look through their clothing for hidden items like weapons and explosives, was launched last week at the U.K. airport. While standing in the booth, the outline of the persons body is seen through their clothing on computer monitors. The 20 second scan reveals any hidden items, but it also reveals the person’s genitals and every contour of their body. The scanner is so sensitive that it can also detect things like breast implants and their bone structure.

The problem is that legislation was passed in the U.K. back in 1978 called the Protection of Children Act which criminalizes the creation of nude or pseudo-nude photos of children. Using the “Rapiscan machines” to scan anyone under the age of 18 would subject airport security staff to potential criminal prosecution under the legislation.

Airport security officials were aware of the legislation before bringing the new airport scanner online and initially intended to let children be scanned with their parents consent, but even that stepped into a legal gray area, potentially subjecting parents to the child protection legislation for allowing their children to be photographed in a revealing way.

From the Daily Mail:

Last night a Manchester Airport spokesman confirmed that all staff had been told not to allow children to be scanned by the new equipment. He said: “Our lawyers and child welfare groups have warned us this is a legal grey area.

We do not want to open ourselves or our staff to the possibility of legal action, so we have decided children will not be subjected to these scans and will continue to face normal security checks.”

The scanner was hoped to speed up the processing of passengers at the airport by shortening the amount of time it takes to perform security checks on each individual.

Photo: AFP/Getty Images via dailymail.co.uk