Drones and the Invasion of Privacy

Em in Ohio

Senior Member
Location
OH HI OH
During the pandemic, more places around the world are using drones. Issues arise because drones can be equipped to monitor not only your health status (temperature, blood pressure, even if you cough or sneeze), but with facial recognition capability and ways to see through walls. Most concerning, perhaps, is that in the US, there are more "best practice" recommendations rather than definitive national laws to protect privacy. How to you feel about this technology and its applications?
 

I'm not really sure if this applies in the USA - but, I'm pretty sure we can't shoot anywhere in MY neighborhood!
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Folks I'm behind the times since I studied law but common law held that your property went all the way to heaven, but times have changed so I looked it up and here is a case where a property owner did shoot a drone down. Of course if you can't discharge a rifle due to laws you are dead but perhaps you can use a laser to blind the camera.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...top-a-drone-from-hovering-over-your-own-yard/
 
I have 7' glass walls at the back of my house and already have to check for neighbors in my line of sight, putting me in theirs as well - I'm not always dressed in the comfort of my own home. Should I see a drone hovering, I thought of a large fish net... I'm definitely in favor of legislation to keep this from getting out of hand.
 
I guess the question is how far up or the height of a property goes. Would it be so many feet above a structure or ground. Maybe the FAA regulations might dictate what is public air space.
 
If you are outside of your home, you are fair game for every nut with enough cash to buy a drone. But those devices that penetrate the walls of your home are definitely off limits, unless with a court order. I think it's reasonable to think that some will use drones to spy on us. If the video from drones, which were not authorised by a court order, cannot be used in anyway in any legal proceeding, it might make "droning" irrelevant. And curtail its use.
 
When we first moved in there was a drone watching, those things are way to loud. But I couldn’t care less, same thing as a neighbor peaking over the fence which happens all the time. As to one that can see through walls, well, hope they are mentally prepared as there are some things you just can’t unsee. 😂
 
You own the air space over your property. So shoot the drone down.
HAHA. That's easy if they get low enough for a shotgun.
When drones got popular, someone was using one to spy on a neighbor's teen-age daughter who was sunbathing in the back yard. The father shot down the drone, destroying it. The idiot owners of the drone found out where they lived & decided to confront the father, complaining that the drone cost $1,800.00.
The father gave them a warning: "If you trespass here, there will be another shooting."
 
Last summer, I heard a buzzing like a swarm of bees overhead, looked up and saw a drone hovering 40' above the pool in my backyard. I gave them a one finger salute and it flew off. I walked down the street to see who was flying it, but never found the owner. I haven't seen it sense.

Fly them safely if you like, but don't hover over my living space.
 
I musta missed that when I signed the mortgage papers..
It's an unwritten law in the mortgage papers. Now how far down do you own your property?

The FAA claims they own and control the airspace from the tips of your grass all the way up.

I would challenge that one. You mean a plane can fly into my chimney and claim immunity? I mean it's only common sense that you own the property at least to the highest point.
 
When we first moved in there was a drone watching, those things are way to loud. But I couldn’t care less, same thing as a neighbor peaking over the fence which happens all the time. As to one that can see through walls, well, hope they are mentally prepared as there are some things you just can’t unsee. 😂
Oh my YES! I would hate to traumatize folks with the naked truth of ME!
 
It's an unwritten law in the mortgage papers. Now how far down do you own your property?

The FAA claims they own and control the airspace from the tips of your grass all the way up.

I would challenge that one. You mean a plane can fly into my chimney and claim immunity? I mean it's only common sense that you own the property at least to the highest point.
RE: the FAA in the USA. Unfortunately, the laws are vague and have the goal of commercial drone usage only:

https://hackernoon.com/navigable-ai...ty-rights-and-regulated-airspace-12d18c34fb1c

"While the FAA has sovereign regulatory authority over all airspace in the U.S., it cannot compel (i.e. force) low-altitude access over private property without consent, short of an eminent domain or condemnation action which would require judicial participation and just compensation, as it would constitute a form of taking.[x] Moreover, as stated by the FAA, Air Traffic Control has no authority or responsibility to control air traffic in Class G airspace, which extends from the surface (i.e. ground) to the base of the overlying Class E airspace.[xi]

Therefore, without an efficient mechanism to enable and incentivize property owners to grant low-altitude Right-of-Way access to drone service providers, there is no practical way for commercial drone services to map dynamic flight routes and operate at low-altitude without trespassing."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airspace_class_(United_States):

"Class G:
Class G airspace includes all airspace below 14,500 feet (4,400 m) MSL not otherwise classified as controlled.[12] There are no entry or clearance requirements for class G airspace, even for IFR operations. Class G airspace is typically the airspace very near the ground (1,200 feet or less), beneath class E airspace and between class B-D cylinders around towered airstrips. Radio communication is not required in class G airspace, even for IFR operations. Class G is is completely uncontrolled."
 
During the pandemic, more places around the world are using drones. Issues arise because drones can be equipped to monitor not only your health status (temperature, blood pressure, even if you cough or sneeze), but with facial recognition capability and ways to see through walls. Most concerning, perhaps, is that in the US, there are more "best practice" recommendations rather than definitive national laws to protect privacy. How to you feel about this technology and its applications?
I'm of the opinion now that these aerial 'spy cams' bother me. I didn't object to traffic cams or mounted security cams, but this just makes me twitchy. With private hobbyists, I say "no way!" Whether I am in my house, my yard, or a public park, I don't want to be the target of such voyeurism.
 
Folks I'm behind the times since I studied law but common law held that your property went all the way to heaven, but times have changed so I looked it up and here is a case where a property owner did shoot a drone down. Of course if you can't discharge a rifle due to laws you are dead but perhaps you can use a laser to blind the camera.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...top-a-drone-from-hovering-over-your-own-yard/
Did it say how far up heaven was? :p
 


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