Voices
But the very same drone technology deployed around the world is
currently circling in the skies over
our heads. And, as another Fourth
of July passed last week, with
Americans paying tribute to our
country’s independence, it’s worth
considering how the proliferation
of drones domestically impacts the
very freedoms we hold dear.
The FAA is principally responsible for introducing new
technology and aircrafts into the
domestic airspace. In a little-noticed move last month, the FAA
issued rules that outline steps for
public safety agencies to obtain
licenses to fly drones.
Although the FAA rules cover
drone training and performance
requirements, they miss a critical component: guidance to state
and local governments related to
privacy and civil liberties protections. Issuing drone licenses
without these baseline safeguards
raises serious concerns.
The FAA’s role in regulating
drones takes on greater importance
because privacy law — at least for
now — is unlikely to serve as a sufficient backstop to potential abuse.
There is very little legal precedent
that would proscribe law enforcement’s use of drones within our
ROBERT
FRIEDMAN
HUFFINGTON
07.15.12
borders. Americans do not generally enjoy a reasonable expectation
of privacy in public spaces, nor in
areas of personal property — like
fenced-in backyards and driveways
— which are visible from public
viewing points — such as the sky.
Earlier this year, the Supreme
Court applied the Fourth Amendment’s prohibition of unreasonable searches and seizures to 21st
century surveillance technology:
the use of a GPS device by law enforcement to monitor a
It’s worth
vehicle’s movement
considering
for an extended pehow the
riod of time. In his
proliferation
concurring opinion,
of drones
Justice Samuel Alito
domestically
foreshadowed an unimpacts the
resolved legal dilemvery freedoms
ma which will surely
we hold dear.”
trouble Americans as
the use of drones proliferates domestically: if police attach a GPS to a car and follow the
car for a brief period of time, the
Fourth Amendment would provide
protection, but if police follow the
same car for a much longer period
of time using aerial surveillance,
this tracking would not be subject
to Fourth Amendment constraints.
Nevertheless, this is the future of