LONDON, Jan. 5 (UPI) -- Children were exempted from a British test-run of airport full-body scanners due to child pornography concerns, The Daily Telegraph reported Tuesday.
The newspaper said children did not have to go through the scanners during a 12-month trial at Manchester Airport after Terri Dowty, the head Action for Rights of Children, warned transportation officials the scanners could violate the Protection of Children Act 1978, which outlaws indecent images or "pseudo-images" of children.
Privacy campaigners say the scanners amount to "virtual strip searching" of travelers because the images of naked bodies they produce are very graphic. The Telegraph said government ministers hoping to introduce full-body scanners nationwide in a bid to tighten anti-terrorism security may be forced to consider making under-18s exempt from the scans.
Civil liberties advocates are also reportedly demanding strict safeguards to make sure the scanner images -- which will include those of celebrities -- are not leaked onto the Internet.
British airport owner BAA, which runs Heathrow and five other facilities, says it will install the devices "as soon as is practical" at Heathrow.
