Goverment Ivading Privacy: GPS Tracking - Term Paper Example

GPS Tracking Affiliation with more information about affiliation, research grants, conflict of interest and how to contact I have always been fond of the new gadgets that are released year after year. I like the way they makes mankind’s life more interesting and easier in ways that in a time we could only dream of. However, how can one go with these tools till we crossed a boundary such as privacy. TSA “Transportation Security Administration” at one point installed X-rays that produced virtual nudes of individuals. GPS TRACKING GPS, Global Positioning Systems satellites was first launched by the Department of Defense in 1978 and is named as Navistar by the US government. (Harmon, 2003). GPS was introduced as a means to aid navigation. GPS is being widely used to track human wherever they go, using their cell phones or car. These are used to track children, elders, persons suffering from memory loss and so on. GPS works on the ability of the receiver to trilateration to calculate their coordinates on earth measuring time taken by signals to reach them (1). Any irregularities in strength of signals and time variations between signals and GPS satellite network are considered. Simplest form of GPS tracking is that the user can track the path they travelled using simple GPS devices which would be helpful in finding their route back, or in following the same path in the future. It also provides opportunity to the GPS users to follow the initial users which can be used in field activities. It is used to track and store information of a person and pass on to a third party, which could be the parents, police etc. GPS vehicle tracking is also possible by attaching GPS units to vehicles, which has much similar principles to the one used by human except the fact that the GPS are combined within vehicular electronics. It has two applications, one is that it provide the driver with an integrated GPS unit, and hence need not buy a car navigator system or a PDA- based GPS system (2). It also enables the driver to pass on that information by means of radio or mobile phone transmitter. It also enables the police to track stolen vehicles. GPS can find the time, distance and even velocity of a GPS receiver using a method of triangulation which is based on the argument that a position can be easily found if distance from three other locations are known. (Michael et al. 2006). TSA X-rays are the devices that are mainly used for diagnosis as well as for the screening purposes among the passengers in the airport, the Rapiscan Secure 1000 SP. (People Screening, 2014). Effective dose of the exposure depends upon the individual size. Like in the case of a typical man weighing about 73 kg and of height 178.6 cm, the effective dose is about to be 11.1 nSv (nSv = 10–9Sv) (7). And the skin dose is 40.4 nGy (nGy = 10–9 Gy) (7).The X-ray backscatter system, as the name indicates uses electro-magnetic radiation (X-ray) for its working. These X-rays pierce through clothes to create an image of the body of which it is exposed to. And it is due to this reason that the TSA has adopted the Rapiscan Secure 1000 by the TSA. In X-ray backscatter system, the object or the individual that has to be scanned is exposed to a beam of photons on its surface. And the image thus formed depends on the intensity of the dose of the photons and position of the source. Usually in the case of X-rays low energy ionizing radiations are used and it has the ability to detect materials like plastic, ceramics etc. through an individual’s clothing. Since these machines use ionizing radiations, it can have an adverse effect on the health of an individual on continued exposure to it. ANSI, The American National Standards Institute and HSP, Health Physics Society has introduced certain limits for this screening systems for the security of the health of the individuals. And now the TSA ensures that the output doses from the devices are set within the limit approved by the ANSI and do not create any sort of negative impact on mankind exposed to it. Rapiscan had contributed a lot in successfully screening the passengers without deviating from the security screening. There are two different ranges of the Rapiscan Systems and they are; the dual pose system and the single pose system. In a dual pose system, the individual has to turn around to get a complete image as there is only one X-ray source used. Whereas, a single pose system constitutes two opposing X-ray sources which gives a complete image of the individual without turning around. TSA mostly prefer single pose systems as it gives the complete image of the individual without subjecting them to further movements. The body scanner is scientifically termed as the AIT, Advanced Imaging Technology. (Fact Sheet: Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT) Health & Safety, n.d.). And two different types of AITs are used up by the airport screening system and they are the millimeter wave and the backscatter X-ray (1). Millimeter wave body scanner uses non-ionizing radio frequency energy whereas an X-ray body scanner uses X-rays which are also slightly ionizing radiations. A millimeter wave AIT produces a three dimensional image of the body and the quality of the images completely depends upon the energy reflected by the body to which it is exposed to. As these devices use non ionizing radiations, they do not create any harmful impact one human body. The images produced by these systems are quite unclear and the faces of the people are blurred, which ensures privacy of the people. The energy produced by a millimeter wave system is quite low as compared to that energy produced by a cell phone. In a backscatter system, the image is processed in a monitor for further analysis. At a time people started becoming so much conscious about their privacy, they were afraid that their nude pictures were saved by the TSA during the security screening process. But the TSA claims that the ATIs do not have the ability to store the images of people, and the images are cleared off soon after the inspection is complete. But later on TSA declared that the ATIs are capable of storing and printing the images but is strictly constrained for the purpose of inspection. They have also employed algorithms for people’s privacy and convenience. Both the scanners, Milli meter wave scanners and Backscatter scanners provide different types of privacy algorithms (Cavoukian, 2009). The privacy algorithm that a multi meter wave provides depends on the method called speckle detection (4). As mentioned earlier, the multi meter waves system produces a three dimensional image of the body. Non conducting materials like the ceramics, plastics etc. produces a solidified mass image when screened. While, human skin is extremely sensitive to millimeter wave system. This property of the system is quite appreciable and helps in easy identifying the foreign object present in one’s body during scanning process. To ensure privacy of the individual, they also adopt the method of masking the face and the genital region of the individual during scanning. The Rapiscan Systems Wave Scan 200 millimeter wavescanners enhances that the anatomical detail of the individual is not processed during screening (5). Researchers have been working so as to develop a much better screening system the respects the privacy of people and has led to the invention of such a device that has the ability to blur sensitive areas of the human body (5). This is a complicated process and is done by a detailed study of the human physique and this data is used for searching the data of the head, chest and the genital area. And this information helps in blurring the sensitive regions of human body that ensures privacy. In the case of a backscatter X-ray system, the image produced by it is two dimensional. A millimeter system produces more specific and exact image of the body but the image produced by a backscatter is like that of drawn by a chalk. It only gives a thread like outline of the person and does not disclose the face of the people. This is more convenient for the passengers as they do not interrupt the privacy and the image indicates the presence of any of the foreign material if present without masking the human body like that of the millimeter system. Reference List Cavoukian, A. (2009). Whole Body Imaging in Airport Scanners: Building in Privacy by Design. Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario. Retrieved April 02, 2014 from http://www.ipc.on.ca/images/Resources/wholebodyimaging.pdf Fact Sheet: Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT) Health & Safety, (n.d.). Homeland Security. Retrieved April 02, 2014 from http://epic.org/foia/dhs/bodyscanner/appeal/TSA-AIT_ScannerFactSheet.pdf Harmon, A. (2003). Lost? Hiding? Your Cellphone Is Keeping Tabs. The New York Times. Retrieved April 02, 2014 from http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/21/technology/21WATC.html Michael et al. (2006). The Emerging Ethics of Humancentric GPS Tracking and Monitoring. University of Wollongong. Retrieved April 02, 2014 from http://www.cse.nd.edu/~cpoellab/teaching/cse40827/papers/tracking.pdf People Screening, (2014). Rapiscan Systems. Retrieved April 02, 2014 from http://www.rapiscansystems.com/en/products/ps Read More