TSA & Photography

Posted in Government, Homeland Security, Photo by Elliott Back on June 29th, 2007.

Live from the Honolulu International Airport, I bring you the following conversation I shared with the Transport Security Administration about the photography of their checkpoint.

Me: Is there any specific written tsa regulation prohibiting photography?

TSA Captain: Yes there is. Phography is not allowed.

Me: Can I see this in writing?

TSA Captain: I can’t let you see that.

Me: Then how do I know it exists?

TSA Captain: I just told you.

Obviously there is a problem here; I don’t mind not being able to take photos (national security, yada yada) but TSA as a government agency has to at least inform the public of its regulations. How can anyone be held responsible for violating a regulation they could not possibly know exists.

This entry was posted on Friday, June 29th, 2007 at 8:32 pm and is tagged with honolulu international airport, transport security administration, government agency, checkpoint, national security, tsa, photography, photos. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback.

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Jeremy Steele 1 year ago 1 point
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They would simply say ignorance of the law is no excuse.

With that said, memorize the TSA's number: 1-866-289-9673

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http://www.nusuni.com/

Elliott Back 1 year ago 1 point
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I agree, but there's no way for me to acquaint myself with said law...

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http://elliottback.com

Sam Photographer 1 year ago 1 point
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There are regulations that are avaiable but like anything else it's hard and hell to find. I asked for a hand inspection of equipment of which I had TSA documentation and regulation printed out and was told at BWI that they had the right to refuse and insisted upon the x-ray issue, I asked to see the supervisor and very calmly spoke to him. Once I told him the equipment was worth 50K he suddenly said ok. That must be the magic number, My feeling is that when you put a badge on some people it goes to their head. I'm all for security but when you are complying, why can't they do their job? We as tax paying US citizens need to have our rights protected and not be treated like communists or criminals by smug underpaid, uneduated tsa employees.

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