St. Louis police chief wants drones “[St. Louis Police Chief] Dotson said he would seek donations and grants to pay for the miniature airplanes, which run from $60,000 to $300,000 each...” “‘This is a significant expansion of government surveillance,’ complained Jeffrey Mittman, executive director of ACLU of Eastern Missouri. ‘Our laws have not kept up with our privacy rights. Our Fourth Amendment privacy rights aren’t safe from unreasonable search and seizure when you’re looking at drones.’” “The Electronic Frontier Foundation, another privacy advocate, discovered through Freedom of Information requests late last year that dozens of police agencies submitted FAA applications.” “[The Airborne Law Enforcement Association] is one of several groups working with the FAA to develop rules for domestic use of drones that Congress mandated by the end of next year.” However, “no agency is assigned to privacy issues.” “Police account for only about 5 percent of drone applicants, who include businesses, universities and news media.” “In April, the Missouri House passed a bill to make the state a ‘no drone zone,’ but it failed in the Senate. “The law would have banned warrantless surveillance via manned or unmanned aircraft, and required journalists to seek permission from property owners before using unmanned aircraft. It also would have required private organizations or state agencies to seek permission for any airborne surveillance.” “Dotson said he is open to a public discussion here.” stltoday/news/local/crime-and-courts/st-louis-police-chief-wants-drones/article_1f0a7488-855d-52cf-9590-03129ce48a06.html
Posted on: Sun, 23 Jun 2013 16:23:26 +0000