Talk of drones patrolling US skies spawns anxiety
This will get interesting. The drones are coming. Privacy from helicopter pilots is tough enough. Now imagine having multiple drones observing from overhead. It's getting tougher to hide that backyard marijuana crop!
Many civil liberty groups are working to establish guidelines before police departments 1) staff-up just to keep an eye on things and then 2) decide that armed drones are a good idea.
Currently, I could launch a drone & capture video without needing a permit (as a hobbiest). However, it's illegal for me to use that drone for any commercial purpose. Very few, limited commercial permits are being issued at this time.
from article -
"Earlier this year Congress, under pressure from the Defense Department and the drone manufacturers, ordered the FAA to give drones greater access to civilian airspace by 2015. Besides the military, the mandate applies to drones operated by the private sector and civilian government agencies, including federal, state and local law enforcement."
"Reps. Ed Markey, D-Mass, and Joe Barton, R-Texas, co-chairs of a congressional privacy caucus, asked the FAA in April how it plans to protect privacy as it develops regulations for integrating drones into airspace now exclusively used by aircraft with human pilots."
This will get interesting. The drones are coming. Privacy from helicopter pilots is tough enough. Now imagine having multiple drones observing from overhead. It's getting tougher to hide that backyard marijuana crop!
Many civil liberty groups are working to establish guidelines before police departments 1) staff-up just to keep an eye on things and then 2) decide that armed drones are a good idea.
Currently, I could launch a drone & capture video without needing a permit (as a hobbiest). However, it's illegal for me to use that drone for any commercial purpose. Very few, limited commercial permits are being issued at this time.
from article -
"Earlier this year Congress, under pressure from the Defense Department and the drone manufacturers, ordered the FAA to give drones greater access to civilian airspace by 2015. Besides the military, the mandate applies to drones operated by the private sector and civilian government agencies, including federal, state and local law enforcement."
"Reps. Ed Markey, D-Mass, and Joe Barton, R-Texas, co-chairs of a congressional privacy caucus, asked the FAA in April how it plans to protect privacy as it develops regulations for integrating drones into airspace now exclusively used by aircraft with human pilots."
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