UDPATE: You can watch the video of the full hearing .
The 老澳门开奖结果 testified today before a House field forum examining drone technology and the Fourth Amendment at Rice University called by Rep. Ted Poe (R-Tex.). Drones have gotten a lot of attention lately 鈥� U.S. law enforcement agencies are eager to get their hands on them while civil libertarians are concerned about the potential threat to privacy. The panel for today鈥檚 hearing, which was held in conjunction with the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security, included representatives from across the board, with witnesses from the advocacy, law enforcement, and academic worlds.
Our legislative counsel, Chris Calabrese, explained the 老澳门开奖结果鈥檚 concerns regarding the lack of regulations on this quickly-spreading technology (read his complete prepared testimony here).
Calabrese testified that while government has long used manned aerial surveillance such as planes and helicopters, unmanned drones potentially pose new threats to our privacy. Helicopters and planes are expensive to purchase, operate, and maintain 鈥� an economic burden that has limited how much the government can own and deploy aircraft. Drones, on the other hand, are relatively inexpensive and have no such deterrent. And when combined with other growing technologies, the unregulated use of drones could create a surveillance environment we have only seen in science fiction. Calabrese explained:
Imagine technology similar to the naked body scanners we are all familiar with from airports attached to a drone. Through technologies like face recognition, improved analytics, and wireless internet, it is possible to track specific individuals with multiple drones. Drones and license plate scanning could be used to track cars for traffic enforcement.
To be sure, drones can be incredibly useful to law enforcement for jobs such as firefighting, search and rescue, or dangerous police actions. However, as the use of drones is expected to increase dramatically due to legislation passed this year ordering the FAA to provide for expanded use, strict safeguards must be put in place by the federal government to maintain Americans鈥� right to privacy.
These safeguards, Calabrese told the hearing, should be based on the following four principles, which are described in more detail in our recent report on domestic drones:
- No one should be spied on unless the government believes they have committed a crime. A warrant should be required for use on private property, while a lower threshold might be acceptable for monitoring someone in public. We must protect against mass, baseless reconnaissance.
- Information collected by drones should only be used for the specific purpose the drone was flown for. Data cannot be shared for general law enforcement or administrative purposes.
- Drones should never be armed.
- Proper oversight must be put in place.
Drones and Our Expectation of Privacy
Today鈥檚 hearing focused on the expected use of drones versus our expectation of privacy. While panelists from law enforcement were concerned about possibly over-regulating such useful technologies, all panelists agreed that a proliferation of drones raises different and heightened privacy concerns for the American public.
Speaking passionately, Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) said, 鈥淲e are not a nation of suspects. Warrants must be narrowly tailored to protect against unlawful searches.鈥�
He also expressed concerns over how individuals might 鈥渃ensor their speech and curtail their self-expression when they believe they are being watched by big brother.鈥�
David Leebron, president of Rice University, spoke about the balance between security and privacy. 鈥淎 surveillance state is incompatible with liberty,鈥� he said, adding that 鈥渨e choose to not become a surveillance society by finding the appropriate balance between privacy and the needs of law enforcement.鈥�
But who should determine the balance? Congress or the courts?
There was general consensus among the panelists that Congress was best positioned to regulate drone use. President Leebron explained that Congress鈥檚 access to the public, through hearings and contact with constituents, allowed it to best consider the nuanced issues surrounding drones. The 老澳门开奖结果鈥檚 Calabrese agreed, noting that unlike the courts, Congress can draft legislation permitting effective uses of drones while setting rules governing their use for criminal law enforcement. This would offer an important safeguard against mass surveillance by drones.
Rep. Poe has introduced HR 6199, the Preserving American Privacy Act of 2012. We believe that the bill is a good first step towards regulating government use of drones. It honors the appropriate constitutional standard that a warrant is necessary for any search of private property.
As the use of drones by law enforcement becomes increasingly common, it is vitally important that the laws are updated to maintain a robust level of privacy for Americans. We are glad to see members of Congress addressing this important issue.
Learn more about domestic drones: Sign up for breaking news alerts, , and .
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Press ReleaseDec 2024
Free Speech
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老澳门开奖结果 and Partners Urge Supreme Court to Block TikTok Ban老澳门开奖结果 and Partners Urge Supreme Court to Block TikTok Ban
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Press ReleaseDec 2024
National Security
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VirginiaDec 2024
National Security
Trabelsi v. Crawford, et al. 鈥� Lawsuit Challenging Unlawful Detention and Inhumane Treatment of Acquitted ManTrabelsi v. Crawford, et al. 鈥� Lawsuit Challenging Unlawful Detention and Inhumane Treatment of Acquitted Man
Our client, Nizar Trabelsi, is in the United States against his will. The federal government brought him here from Belgium more than a decade ago and charged him with terrorism-related crimes. At trial, the government鈥檚 case failed: a federal jury found Mr. Trabelsi not guilty. But instead of allowing Mr. Trabelsi to return to Belgium after his acquittal, the United States placed him in highly restrictive immigration detention and began an ongoing effort to force him to Tunisia, where he was born and where he will very likely be tortured. Mr. Trabelsi鈥檚 detention violates the Constitution, immigration law, and the extradition treaty between the United States and Belgium. Through this lawsuit, he seeks to return to Belgium, and he demands an immediate improvement of his detention conditions. -
Press ReleaseDec 2024
National Security
Immigrants' Rights
Federal Judge Rejects Acquitted Man鈥檚 Argument That His Immigration Detention Is UnlawfulFederal Judge Rejects Acquitted Man鈥檚 Argument That His Immigration Detention Is Unlawful
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