United, Delta and American Airlines cover seatback cameras with stickers as a result of negative reactions to privacy

United, Delta and American Airlines are taking steps to cover the cameras on the seat backs after the practice triggered a critical response to privacy concerns.

Many consumers were outraged to learn that controversial cameras were being incorporated into the entertainment systems of the aircraft seats.

This even triggered an investigation by two US senators who asked what the cameras are for and recorded unsuspecting passengers.

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Airlines have announced plans to hide cameras in response to recent criticism.

United Airlines said it has already covered all the cameras of its seats in its planes.

"Like many other airlines, some of our premium seats are equipped with in-flight entertainment systems with cameras installed by the manufacturer," United spokesman told BuzzFeed News.

"None of these cameras was activated and we did not plan to use them in the future. However, we took additional measures to cover the cameras.

"Cameras are a standard feature that system manufacturers include for future purposes such as videoconferencing," added the spokesperson.

Stickers covering United's back seat cameras have since been spotted.

The company announced that it would install the covers on all premium seats added to the aircraft.

A spokesman for Delta told BuzzFeed that he also planned to cover the cameras in order to "reassure" customers and said he was not considering using them.

An American Airlines spokesman also said his cameras were not turned on and that he would install camera covers.

Much of the debate over the camera cameras was triggered after a traveler posted a tweet interrogating a tiny goal spotted at the back of a Singapore Airlines jet seat.

"I just discovered this interesting sensor that is watching me from the seat aboard Singapore Airlines," said Twitter, a user of Vitaly Kamluk.

& # 39; Any expert opinion about whether there is a camera? Maybe @SingaporeAir could clarify how it is used?

In response, Singapore Airlines' official Twitter account said the cameras were never turned on and had been installed by the original manufacturer.

According to Digital Trends, some of the in-flight entertainment systems appear to have been manufactured by Panasonic Avionics.

Panasonic Avionics considers American Airlines, Emirates and Japan Airlines to be companies that use the systems, among others.

"Panasonic Avionics takes the privacy of airline passengers very seriously," the company told Digital Trends.

Although the company includes cameras in its in-flight entertainment systems (IFE), these cameras have at no time been activated or used in any way by Panasonic Avionics or its customers.

"The cameras have just been included to support potential future applications such as head-to-head videoconferencing," the company added.

The controversy surrounding the seat-file cameras caught the attention of US Senators Jeff Merkley and John Kennedy, who sent a joint letter to eight US carriers asking for more information about the cameras.

Delta Air Lines, Southwest, Frontier, United Airlines, Spirit, American Airlines, Jet Blue and Alaska Air are among the topics discussed in the letter.

"The last thing passengers need to worry about, is the idea that airlines or hackers could spy on them while they eat their pretzels," Merkley said. at CNN.

"It's time to protect the privacy of Americans and get rid of hidden cameras and microphones in planes."

This is because airports and airlines are increasingly being criticized for using face recognition at security checkpoints.