aircraft ! The first off the block are Oregon and Texas , but others are probably following . Needless to say , the AMA is opening it ’ s war chest to battle this sort of dopey knee-jerk thinking .
A related concern will be privacy and this has stymied some development of the technology , and FAA rule-making in the US . This one is a real dilemma with no clear solution in sight . Contrary to popular mythology , most counties in the western world have no general right of privacy legislation . In particular , in NZ , and many other countries , you have no rights in the airspace above you . So there ’ s nothing to stop a drone being flown 20 feet above your house , your spa pool , your patch of beach , or similar , subject to a very few exceptions .
Yes , there is a little ( but very little ) protection here , i . e . the Crimes Act does prohibit intimate visual recording and this is conveniently and nicely defined in the Act as female and male bits and bobs , and sexual activity , and other fascinating things . ( This part of the Act almost reads like “ Lady Chatterly ’ s Lover ” !) And the Civil Aviation Act will do you if you operate an aircraft in a careless or dangerous manner . The Summary Offences Act says thou shalt not : Peep or peer into a dwelling or house at night . And I suppose there ’ s the old “ gotcha ” offense of : “ being a criminal nuisance ” So one could push their luck to far on all this .
However , in a recent development in Washington State , Seattle became one of the USA ’ s first cities to buy unmanned drones for use by the police department . Public reaction was less " Wow , neat " than " What the heck ?" After a raucous Seattle City Council hearing the mayor killed the Police drone program . One of the leading privacy activists involved claimed : " It ' s almost like we ' re back in communist Russia or Nazi Germany ,…… These unmanned drones will be another tool for an eventual police state ."
It seems to me that drones will concern Joe Public more than other contemporary surveillance technology , in part because the police and the military have been early adopters . Their association with war is historic and obvious and has now been bought to a new level with their deployment as missile launchers in Afghanistan and Pakistan . It seems that since about 2004 , drone attacks have killed about 3,000 folk in those countries and around 10 % have been innocent bystanders . As Time notes “ The morality of the US drone campaign , and it ’ s legality under domestic and international law , is the subject of bitter debate ”
So , welcome to a bit of brave new world . As the Time article notes ; “.. few technologies are as seductive , promise so much at so little political , financial and human cost as drones …. Drones don ’ t just give us power , they tempt us to use it ” So true . Have fun , but please don ’ t be terribly shocked if you find some other offended human grabbing your drone and trying to shove it “ where the sun don ’ t shine ” !