The market for drones has significantly dropped in price and risen in popularity, allowing the intrusive devices to fall in the wrong hands of troublemakers and cause public unrest over privacy.
A recent report by The New York Times shows police are increasingly responding to incidents involving the invasive use of drones in interrupting sporting events, stalking hunters and recording public prank attempts.
“It’s now in the hands of all types of people — good people, bad people, tricksters, pranksters, kids,” Patrick Egan, editor at sUAS News, told The New York Times. “All hell is going to break loose as far as the shenanigans that are perpetrated with drones.”
While the footage seems harmless, the public is starting to question the legality of individuals using drones to record without the subject’s consent. Drones have become a one-stop-shop for spying and snooping on others.
However, little regulation impacts the use of drones in a public setting, especially those who fly for fun.
The Federal Aviation Administration lists three types of aircrafts allowed in public: civil unmanned aircraft systems, public UAS, and model aircraft, according to Business Insider. These devices can be flown freely without regulation, but businesses must get approval from the F.A.A. All devices must remain below 400 feet.
The F.A.A. stops there, leaving the door wide open for mischief-makers to pick up a drone and peep into the lives of the public without any cause for worry.
“There’s very little in American privacy law that would limit the use of drones for surveillance,” Ryan Calo, an assistant professor at the University of Washington School of Law, told The New York Times.
Drones have become a staple in research and investigations and have provided great coverage of sights from above. The use of drones shouldn’t be terminated, but strictly regulated for the average joe.
The public is entitled to its privacy, and that should include protection from flying cameras peeping in and out of our lives. Drones could become real-life flying monkeys that follow us around if someone doesn’t put a foot down for privacy.
"There are drones flying over the air randomly that are recording everything that’s happening on what we consider our private property,” Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor said while speaking at Oklahoma City University. “That type of technology has to stimulate us to think about what is it that we cherish in privacy and how far we want to protect it and from whom."
Careless drone flying has also put other aircrafts in danger when in flight. Getting in the path of a large aircraft puts the lives of many at risk, a concern that would disappear with reasonable laws.
Drone technology is quickly advancing and the dangers they pose are escalating at an even faster rate. The benefits of the device in the right hands are evolving the technology industry, but in the wrong hands, drones jeopardize our rights.
Reach the columnist at rsmouse@asu.edu or follow her on Twitter @BeccaSmouse
Editor’s note: The opinions presented in this column are the author’s and do not imply any endorsement from The State Press or its editors.
Want to join the conversation? Send an email to opiniondesk.statepress@gmail.com. Keep letters under 300 words and be sure to include your university affiliation. Anonymity will not be granted.
