Wired: On 15 July 2010, the US Appeals Court for the District of Columbia ordered the Transportation Security Administration to hold public comment hearings on the use of advanced imaging technology (“back-scatter”) scanners. The hearings are required by law when a government agency’s policies would have a substantial effect on individual’s rights. The TSA began using the scanners in 2009 without holding hearings and argued that the delay caused by the hearings would hinder the government’s ability to ensure airline safety. Agency officials now says a schedule for the hearings will be announced next year. Wired‘s David Kravets expects that the hearings will highlight potential privacy rights violations and concerns about the effectiveness and safety of the scanners, but he doubts that the government will abandon use of them.