The draft Communications Data Bill ("snoopers' charter") proposed by the British government under Prime Minister David Cameron and Home Secretary Theresa May has been criticized as security theater. Similarly, Cameron's proposal to ban encryption in the UK has been criticized as ineffective security theater. During the COVID-19 pandemic, some measures such as surface sanitation and temperature checks at airports have been criticized as being security theater or "hygiene theater". Credit card signatures have been a longstanding subject of scrutiny and generally referred to as theatrical measure. Credit card signatures have been notably criticized for having no true effect on deterring or stopping credit card fraud. Etymology The term security theater was coined by computer security specialist and writer Bruce Schneier for his book Beyond Fear, but has gained currency in security circles, particularly for describing airport security measures. Examples of use of the term: See also Christopher Soghoian, creator of a website that generated fake airline boarding passes Federal Assault Weapons Ban Hygiene theater Placebo effect Target hardening Watching-eye effect References External links Crypto-Gram, Bruce Schneier's newsletter Sometimes, Security Theater Really Works Gadi Evron and Imri Goldberg argue that security theater saves lives Aviation security Airport infrastructure Deception