With 30,000 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), i.e. “drones,” projected to fly in U.S. airspace by 2020, civil liberties groups and concerned citizens have struggled to preserve privacy rights amidst a booming, multibillion dollar drone manufacturing industry.
For legislators in Maine, the promise of jobs, tax revenue and improvements to public safety isn’t enough to endorse police drone use. In fact, the New England state is poised to become the latest state to limit law enforcement use of drones in its airspace, bucking a trend of rapid expansion of drone flights used for surveillance across the United States.
Introduced Tuesday, a proposal titled, “An Act To Protect the Privacy of Citizens from Domestic Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Use” argues for strict regulations on police drone surveillance — mandating authorities obtain a court warrant before deploying them.
“I’ve always had a problem with giving Big Brother more tools to look at the masses,” said State Senator John Patrick (D). “I really don’t like the idea of just anyone being able to watch everyone for anything.”
Patrick’s proposal will likely face an uphill battle, given the talk of jobs and tax revenue promised by the drone manufacturing industry. The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International, the main drone lobby organization, promises 23,000 new jobs across the U.S. by 2025. Political donations by the drone lobby have increased significantly in recent years.
According to First Street Research, political action committees (PACs) affiliated with drone manufacturers have donated a total of $2.3 million to the nearly 60 members of the bipartisan House Unmanned Systems Caucus.
Drone manufacturers were on hand to testify in opposition to the proposal, claiming that citizen fears have been overblown.
Christopher Taylor, the president of Viking Unmanned Aerial Systems Inc. told the committee that his company has been involved in the research and development of drones since 2008.
“Although technology is and can be scary to some and maybe most [people], it has limitations,” Taylor said during a hearing before the legislature’s Judiciary Committee. “Those limitations should be researched and understood prior to restricting any use of the technology.”
Such promises have not slowed the onslaught of criticisms expressed by legislators, some expressing violent opposition to drone use in their state.
“If I saw one of these [drones] flying over my house I’d shoot it down,” said State Rep. Wayne Mitchell (D) in recent testimony.
The underlying reason for citizen opposition has been the issue of privacy. “This is a real opportunity for us to be proactive on something. I hope this legislation will be the beginning of a much-needed conversation about bringing our privacy laws up to date and protecting both safety and privacy in Maine,” Patrick said.
Patrick, Mitchell and other legislators have been supported by a bevy of rights groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), who decry the use of drones as an invasion of privacy and a violation of Fourth Amendment rights that prevents police from carrying out “unreasonable searches and seizures.”
Some drones are now equipped with technology, allowing police to see through the walls of buildings, including private homes. Normally, police are mandated to obtain a warrant in order to conduct an investigation of a private home.
Some legislators also fear that drones could have a negative impact on tourism and public life as well.
“Maine’s Vacationland,” Patrick said. “Can you imagine some drone is flying over the beaches of Maine, people look up and a mile up in the sky there’s just a thing flying around looking at beaches? Who knows what the information would be used for if they did it for the sake of general surveillance.”