When Authorities Use Drones For Surveillance
By Amy E. Feldman
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Those of us who can't bear the thought of waiting 24 whole hours for Amazon to deliver a mini LED flashlight or a pair of Levis are happy that the FAA recently gave Amazon permission to fly delivery drones on a trial basis.
But, the idea of immediate deliveries to our front door goes from feeling like we're in a cool and futuristic Jetsons episode to feeling more like a hunted character in the Bourne Legacy when we think about whether law enforcement can use drones to bring surveillance to our front door.
With hovering drones soon to be everywhere, people want to know: does law enforcement need a search warrant to gather info through those drones?
First, it depends on whether the person had a reasonable expectation of privacy in the surveillance area.
To gather pictures in a public space, drone surveillance can be done without a warrant. But state legislators are beginning to feel the need to limit the use of drone surveillance without a warrant where it's on people's property.
In the past few months, several states including Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Virginia among other states have passed such legislation, because the law hasn't caught up with technology and lawmakers are beginning to start to yell: Jane! Stop this crazy thing.
