Editing Transportation Security Administration (section)

===Checked baggage===<!--More than two companies make TSA locks-->
[[File:TSA Lock.JPG|thumb|TSA lock with symbol and general key access]]
[[File:lol key escrow.jpg|thumb|3D printed master keys for [[Travel Sentry]] locks]]

In order to be able to search passenger baggage for security screening, the TSA will cut or otherwise disable locks they cannot open themselves. The agency authorized two companies to create [[padlock]]s, lockable straps, and luggage with built-in locks that can be opened and relocked by tools and information supplied by the lock manufacturers to the TSA. These are [[Travel Sentry]] and [[Safe Skies Locks]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/life/david-bear/david-bear-separating-needles-from-haystacks-446962/|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130615222416/http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/life/david-bear/david-bear-separating-needles-from-haystacks-446962/|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 15, 2013|title=Separating needles from haystacks|last=Bear|first=David|date=August 20, 2006|work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|access-date=April 6, 2013}}</ref> TSA agents sometimes cut these locks off instead of opening them, and TSA received over 3,500 complaints in 2011 about locks being tampered with.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://abc7news.com/archive/8888928/|title=TSA-approved luggage locks don't always keep belongings safe|work=ABC7 San Francisco}}</ref> Travel journalist and ''[[National Geographic Traveler]]'' editor Christopher Elliott describes these locks as "useless" at protecting the goods within,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/24187702/ns/travel-travel_tips/t/tips-ensure-tsa-doesnt-swipe-your-stuff/#.UzUVFK14Ebk|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130627114609/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/24187702/ns/travel-travel_tips/t/tips-ensure-tsa-doesnt-swipe-your-stuff#.UzUVFK14Ebk|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 27, 2013|title=Tips to ensure the TSA doesn't swipe your stuff|last=Elliot|first=Christopher|date=April 21, 2008|work=[[NBCNews.com]]|access-date=March 28, 2014}}</ref> whereas SmarterTravel wrote in early 2010 that the "jury is out on their effectiveness", while noting how easy they are to open.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.smartertravel.com/blogs/today-in-travel/who-responsible-for-items-stolen-from-your-bag.html?id=4300633|title=Who's Responsible for Items Stolen From Your Bag?|last=Unger|first=Carl|date=February 11, 2010|work=[[TripAdvisor|SmarterTravel]]|access-date=March 28, 2014}}</ref>

In November 2014, The ''Washington Post'' inadvertently published a photograph of all seven of the TSA master keys in an article<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/where-oh-where-did-my-luggage-go/2014/11/24/16d168c6-69da-11e4-a31c-77759fc1eacc_story.html|title=The secret life of baggage: Where does your luggage go at the airport?|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=September 15, 2015}}</ref> about TSA baggage handling. The photograph was later removed from the original article, but it still appears in some syndicated copies.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20141130/NEWS02/141139966|title=What happens to baggage at airports?|work=The Daily Herald|date=November 29, 2014}}</ref> In August 2015, this gained the attention of news sites.<ref name="dangers">{{cite web|url=https://www.engadget.com/2015/08/22/tsa-reveals-master-baggage-keys/|title=TSA inadvertently shows the dangers of master baggage keys|publisher=AOL|work=Engadget|date=August 22, 2015 }}</ref> Using the photograph, security researchers and members of the public have been able to reproduce working copies of the master keys using [[3D printing]] techniques.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/2015/09/lockpickers-3-d-print-tsa-luggage-keys-leaked-photos/|title=Lockpickers 3-D Print TSA Master Luggage Keys From Leaked Photos|magazine=Wired|publisher=WIRED Magazine|access-date=September 15, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.engadget.com/2015/09/11/tsa-master-baggage-keys-3d-print/|title=3D-printable files of TSA master baggage keys are out for download|publisher=AOL|work=Engadget|date=September 11, 2015 }}</ref> The incident has prompted discussion about the security implications of using master keys.<ref name="dangers" />