December 16, 2004 | Photographing the Photographers

Richard M. Smith of computer bytes man fame sent me this little tidbit about getting in trouble for photographing a Customs' sign showing visitors to prepare to give their fingerprints and digital photos to the U.S Visit system.

I made the mistake today of violating DHS's privacy by shooting a photo in a hallway leading to the passport checking area at the Atlanta airport. My wife and I were returning from a vacation outside of the U.S. I was promptly chewed out by a passport agent for taking the photo because it was against new DHS security rules. There were signs about these new rules at the passport counters, but not in the area where I took the photo.

Ironically the photo was of a sign explaining the new US-VISIT program which requires all foreign visitors to be fingerprinted and photographed when they arrive and leave the U.S. It is not clear to me why my photo represents a security risk...

Posted by Ryan Singel at December 16, 2004 10:52 AM

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Tracked on December 19, 2004 08:36 PM