Why Is the TSA Scanning Paper?
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I’ve been reading a bunch of anecdotal reports that the TSA is starting to scan paper separately:
A passenger going through security at Kansas City International Airport (MCI) recently was asked by security officers to remove all paper products from his bag. Everything from books to Post-It Notes, documents and more. Once the paper products were removed, the passenger had to put them in a separate bin to be scanned separately.
When the passenger inquired why he was being forced to remove the paper products from his carry-on bag, the agent told him that it was a pilot program that’s being tested at MCI and will begin rolling out nationwide. KSHB Kansas City is reporting that other passengers traveling through MCI have also reported the paper-removal procedure at the airport. One person said that security dug through the suitcase for two “blocks” of Post-It Notes at the bottom.
Does anyone have any guesses as to why the TSA is doing this?
EDITED TO ADD (5/11): This article says that the TSA has stopped doing this. They blamed it on their contractor, Akai Security.
Tags: air travel, searches, TSA
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Text extracted automatically; images, tables and formatting may be missing. Original: https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2017/05/why_is_the_tsa_.html