A new full-body scanner being tested by the U.S. government as a replacement for airport metal detectors can see through the clothing of passengers.
For the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA), it's the latest step to wipe out terrorism.
The "millimeter wave scanner" is meant as a secondary screening of passengers pulled out of the security line, and can be requested instead of the traditional pat-down.
The machine uses radio waves to detect foreign objects and scans the entire body at high speed.
Because it produces such a detailed image, technology and privacy experts at the American Civil Liberties Union feel use of the machine is a violation of people's privacy.
"It's a virtual strip search," said Melissa Ngo, a director at the Electronic Privacy Information Center. "(It's) a detailed image of a person's body. So detailed that you can see genitalia."
The device is programmed to blur the passenger's face so that screeners -- all in a separate room -- won't know who they're seeing naked. The system is not set up to record anything.
Security officers at the Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix, Ariz. have been testing similar devices since February.
However, the new scanners don't deal with the 7,500 tonnes of cargo put on passenger planes every day.
A government audit in July found monitoring of air cargo at the airport "ineffective".
"It's a glaring vulnerability when there are virtually no inspections whatsoever," said Clark Kent Ervin, former U.S. inspector of general and homeland security.
TSA purchased eight of the new scanners, which cost between $100,000 and $120,000, and is considering deploying them at John F. Kennedy and Los Angeles airports during the test period.
A spokesperson for TSA said the results of the testing will determine whether to use these machines for primary screening.
With reports from CTV's Tom Walters and The Associated Press
