Domestic surveillanceLawmaker proposes restrictions on domestic drone use

Senator Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) on Tuesday introduced legislation into the Senate which he says aims to protect individual privacy against unwarranted governmental intrusion through the use of the unmanned aerial vehicles commonly known as drones.  “The Preserving Freedom from Unwarranted Surveillance Act of 2012 will protect Americans’ personal privacy,” the senator said.

“Like other tools used to collect information in law enforcement, in order to use drones a warrant needs to be issued. Americans going about their everyday lives should not be treated like criminals or terrorists and have their rights infringed upon by military tactics,” Paul said.

The Preserving Freedom from Unwarranted Surveillance Act of 2012 also:

1. Prohibits the use of drones by the government except when a warrant is issued for its use in accordance with the requirements of the Fourth Amendment;
2. Includes the following exceptions:

• patrol of national borders;
• when law enforcement possesses reasonable suspicion that under particular circumstances, swift drone action is necessary to prevent “imminent danger to life”;
• high risk of a terrorist attack

3. Allows any person to sue the government for violating this Act.
4. Specifies that no evidence obtained or collected in violation of this Act can be used/admissible as evidence in a criminal, civil, or regulatory action.

Greg McNeal writes in Forbes that, “On balance, the bill is a very modest starting point.  Despite the fact that the exceptions can be ready fairly broadly, I expect the bill will still engender substantial resistance from the law enforcement community.” He adds: “The bigger impact would be if the bill is read to prohibit the use of drones for general “community policing” purposes (e.g. flying over an area to prevent crime, rather than to gather information for use as evidence).  A careful reading of the text suggests that Senator Paul intends to prohibit this “community policing” type use…. If that is the aim of the legislation it is likely to engender far greater resistance from law enforcement and other drone proponents.”