Wednesday, October 26, 2011

TSA Agent Finds Vibe, Urges Passenger to 'Get Her Freak On'


Writer Jill Filipovic got a little surprise when she arrived at her hotel in Dublin on Monday. She'd packed well for her trip, including all the basic necessities—like her vibrator—and when she opened her bag, what should be sitting on top but a form from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) disclosing that her luggage had been examined before her flight had left Newark (NJ) International Airport.

But what drew her attention was some writing in the margin of the form: "GET YOUR FREAK ON GIRL."

Fortunately, she got over the humor of the situation and began thinking about the "total violation of privacy" and "wildly inappropriate" parts, and told ABC News that she would probably be "filing a complaint with the TSA once she returns to the U.S."

For its part, when ABC contacted the TSA for a comment, a spokesperson for the agency downplayed the event, claiming that TSA is only "one of several entities" that may rummage through checked baggage, and stated that so far, there is "no concrete evidence who wrote the note."

Attorney Jonathan Turley agreed with Filipovic, writing, "If true, it is a pretty serious breach of privacy to send jokes or taunts to passengers based on their personal items," but noted, "However, what would the damages be in such a case, particularly given the right to inspect and Filipovic’s admission that she found the note funny?"

No comments: