Movie Star Claims Heathrow Airport Staff Printed Out, Circulated, His Naked Body Images
from the privacy? dept
There's been a big push over the last couple months to get those full body scanners installed in more airports. These scanners, if you don't recall, basically create a "naked" image of the person in them. This has resulted in all sorts of (mostly reasonable) concerns about privacy (well, and dignity) of those passing through the devices. Defenders of these systems insist that the images are seen by someone remotely who can't see the person, so there's no way to connect the image to the person, and the scans are deleted immediately.Except... perhaps that's not always true. Eric points us to the news that Indian movie star Shahrukh Khan (oddly, I just saw one of his movies) is claiming that the staff at London's Heathrow airport had not just connected his scan to who he was, but also printed it out and circulated it among some staff.
I have to admit, this one could use a bit more proof, because my understanding was that the scan itself is done in a remote location, but Khan seems to indicate that staff had the printouts almost immediately:
"I was a little scared. Something happens [inside the scans], and I came out. Then I saw these girls -- they had these printouts. I looked at them. I thought they were some forms you had to fill. I said 'give them to me' -- and you could see everything inside. So I autographed them for them," stated Khan.I could definitely see how another security or airport staffer might alert whoever was watching the remote scans of who was passing through the scanner. The last few times I've seen these devices used in airports the other security staff had radio contact with the person watching the scans (for obvious reasons). But having multiple printouts immediately distributed? It's not clear how that would happen.
Update: Yup, as we suspected, this story appears to be bogus. Security officials are denying it ever happened, and apparently Khan has some movie coming out about being detained by airport security... so... yeah, PR stunt.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Filed Under: airport security, heathrow, privacy, scans, skahrukh khan
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
Classic.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Damn
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
There are usually computer-equipped security offices nearby.
They probably would not be configured to have printers at the areas were the image was to appear.
That's what the camera-phone is for. The person watching the screen in area where the image appears snaps a photo of the screen with their phone and then sends that to their buddies in the security office (or someone somewhere else) who then ogle it and print it.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re:
Absolutely, a camera phone could do that.
I'm not saying that is what happened in this case, just that it is entirely plausible.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Heathrow Staff
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Heathrow Staff
I saw this (not the pictures, the interview) on "Friday Night with Jonathan Ross" last Friday. (UK BBC1) If you dig around YouTube you can probably find the full interview.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Copypasted my response from elsewhere
It's also quite a coincidence that there happen to be multiple girls working the scanner who are also fans of Bollywood films. While those chances are higher in England than here, how was he the first person/celeb this happened to in the world's second busiest airport?
While the scanners are stupid, I doubt this is real. I think this is just an actor telling an amusing tale.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Copypasted my response from elsewhere
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
tipped off in advance?
The service rep at the checkin counter could recognize his face and name and then call anyone at the airport.
If he is a big-shot, he could have been accompanied by a service rep who would have alerted security that a VIP was going through.
It's opening a huge can of worms with these images getting sold to tabloids.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Copypasted my response from elsewhere
Really big stars often fly on chartered flights so they don't have to go through all the security crap the "little people" do.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Copypasted my response from elsewhere
Because if a terrorist wants to hijack a chartered jet and fly it into a building, apparently that's OK.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Copypasted my response from elsewhere
How long can it take to be released after being scanned? Surely they hold you until they've reviewed the images. How many reviewers do they have? Do people ever have to wait in a queue for their images to be reviewed?
Also, he didn't say how long it was after he was scanned that he came upon the "girls" with the printouts. It could have been some time afterward.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
US vs. UK?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: US vs. UK?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: US vs. UK?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
A waste of resources.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Blatent propaganda for his flick
I guess his detention in August 2009 wasn't enough publicity or maybe he has a sequel coming out. Techdirt, this is a non-story. I'll chalk it up to snow madness, assuming of course you are on the east coast.
If you'd like to talk about the attention he's bringing to a more important issue, then have at it. You've done well with that before. I've always appreciated those entries.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Blatent propaganda for his flick
Er, we wrote pretty clearly that we didn't believe the story because it didn't make sense. Did you not read the post?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
If Alex Jones said the Earth was round would you then say it was flat?
BTW, the story has been reported in many other places.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Looks more like a publicity stunt
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Looks more like a publicity stunt
I don't think it holds water. They claim it would be "impossible" because "the body-scanning equipment had no capability to print images", as if though that would be the only way images could be made. The camera-phone angle (covered up above) was completely ignored in their denial and there are others ways it could happen too.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Hearthrow is funny.
Well I don't remember exactly but I do remember very clearly I walked a lot, is like the Los Angeles airport(or was a Texan one) where I think there is a red carpet and you walk an incredible distance till the customs once you get out of the plane.
I can see how this can happen. Although I don't believe him.
Mostly because the British authorities didn't try to cover up anything or came out with excuses yet.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Hearthrow is funny.
BAA denies body scanner photo claim.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Hearthrow is funny.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
It reads more like someone trying to convince us that he is so hot that the people wanted to see his digitally stripped body.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
rule 34
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Myth Buster
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Myth Buster
I notice how you guys parrot the claim that it couldn't happen because the machines don't have printers attached while completely ignoring the fact that they don't have to have printers attached for this to happen. Come on, if you guys are gonna spin, you're going to have to do a little better than that to be believed.
Myth busted? Not yet.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Myth Buster
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Myth Buster
You can't read, for example, post #19 above? Then I'm sorry, but you're beyond my ability to explain it to you.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Smile - you're on candid camera
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Stooge!
Look this only undermines international efforts to find methods to combat terrorism.
For what? ....... Free press!
They ought to prosecute him, seeing he was willing to offer false testament.
But how sad is the U.K. law?
Well, it would seem that ALL the Taliban in the UK now know, you only need strap bombs to babies and children.
Oh goody gum bombs, children are easier to recruit.
Surely they'll need amend this via the National Securities Act. How silly.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
he was joking...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: he was joking...
Has he said so somewhere?
Why so many people thought he was serious is beyond me. This is getting reposted all over the internet for no reason he never expected people to take his joke seriously.
Kind of the guy who makes bomb jokes in the airport, eh?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: he was joking...
Do you watch Russell Peters and then later expect him to say he was joking? He was talking about how only people with small dicks care about those scanners and then said he signed his for the girls there, obviously jokes.
Kind of the guy who makes bomb jokes in the airport, eh?
Going on a talkshow and making jokes about airport security is completely different from making bomb jokes at an airport.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: he was joking...
So you're saying he was obviously joking if he said he didn't have small penis? Please tell us, how do you know about the size of his penis?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: he was joking...
Watch the interview, maybe all the laughing after each sentence he says will help you understand.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: he was joking...
No, I haven't. So is that where you saw his penis?
Watch the interview, maybe all the laughing after each sentence he says will help you understand.
Ouch. I bet that was embarrassing for him, all those people laughing at it.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Machines have technical ability to hold pics
This time, it's CNN:
"A privacy group says the Transportation Security Administration is misleading the public with claims that full-body scanners at airports cannot store or send their graphic images.
The TSA specified in 2008 documents that the machines must have image storage and sending abilities, the Washington-based Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) said."
http://bit.ly/8t510F
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Machines have technical ability to hold pics
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Doesn't look like anyone has said it yet
[ link to this | view in chronology ]