Following the latest terrorist attempt on a Northwest Airlines flight where a passenger reportedly attempted to blow up the plane using explosives sewn into his underwear, many government and TSA officials are beginning to wonder whether or not additional scanning measures should be taken to attempt to detect dangerous substances or items before being allowed on the plane.

The interesting fact about the additional scanning measures that are being considered are non-invasive as well as they require no physical interaction between a passenger and a TSA official – thanks to technology more modern than a simple x-ray scanner officials can easily look for metal or other objects through any number of clothing layers and detect even the smallest item that may be hidden away.

Still, to quote Spiderman’s Uncle Ben, “with great power comes great responsibility”. These machines are at the point today where they can easily peel back layers of clothing to see anything that may be underneath, allowing for virtual strip-searches to be conducted at airports without traveler consent. Who is to say that TSA examiners won’t abuse this power to sneak a peek at what may be hidden beneath your clothing? How will travelers be protected from unjust prying eyes that may ogle them as soon as they step into an airport?

These concerns are the primary points that are being made by many organizations fighting the decision currently under debate of whether or not to include these advanced machines in all major airport terminals in the near future. Even groups such as the ACLU are stepping in and calling these searches a civil rights violation that strongly outweighs any potential benefit they may bring over current security measures.

The solution that is being presented to this is to utilize the technology available to the TSA security providers, however to do so in a much smarter way rather than an unjust and potentially violating manner. Using specifically attuned detection settings for detecting metal objects alone, for example, could speed up the scanning process when going through security checkpoints, while only doing more thorough body scans for individuals exhibiting suspicious behavior could also limit the potential civil violations that many people fear occurring.

Technology can be a powerful ally in helping keep us safe, but at the same time it can also be dangerous to us as we struggle to find a proper balance between safety and privacy.