Posted on 02/15/2012 7:13:14 AM PST by FourPeas
San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) filed suit today against the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), demanding data on certifications and authorizations the agency has issued for the operation of unmanned aircraft, also known as drones.
Drones are designed to carry surveillance equipment including video cameras, infrared cameras and heat sensors, and radar that can allow for sophisticated and almost constant surveillance. They can also carry weapons. Traditionally, drones have been used almost exclusively by military and security organizations. However, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection uses drones inside the United States to patrol the U.S. borders, and state and local law enforcement are increasingly using unmanned aircraft for investigations into things like cattle rustling, drug dealing, and the search for missing persons.
Any drone flying over 400 feet needs a certification or authorization from the Federal Aviation Administration, part of the DOT. But there is currently no information available to the public about who specifically has obtained these authorizations or for what purposes. EFF filed a Freedom of Information Act request in April of 2011 for records of unmanned aircraft activities, but the DOT so far has failed to provide the information.
"Drones give the government and other unmanned aircraft operators a powerful new surveillance tool to gather extensive and intrusive data on Americans' movements and activities," said EFF Staff Attorney Jennifer Lynch. "As the government begins to make policy decisions about the use of these aircraft, the public needs to know more about how and why these drones are being used to surveil United States citizens."
Dozens of companies and research organizations are working to develop even more sophisticated drones, so their use is poised for a dramatic expansion in the coming years. Meanwhile, news reports indicate that the FAA is studying ways to integrate more drones into the national airspace because of increased demand from federal, state, and local governments. EFF's lawsuit asks for immediate response to our FOIA request, including the release of data on any certificates and authorizations issued for unmanned aircraft flights, expired authorizations, and any applications that have been denied.
"The use of drones in American airspace could dramatically increase the physical tracking of citizens tracking that can reveal deeply personal details about our private lives," said Lynch. "We're asking the DOT to follow the law and respond to our FOIA request so we can learn more about who is flying the drones and why."
For the full complaint: https://www.eff.org/sites/default/files/filenode/EFFDroneComplaint.pdf
For more on this case: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2012/01/drones-are-watching-you
Obama will use his NATO Sharia Police to hunt
and take out any American negatively
discussing his 57 States.
Not only that, but under the 0bama regime, where he unilaterally decides whether Americans live or die, he can quickly eradicate pesky non-conformers to his policies.
In WA State, they don’t use drones, they use helicopters and small planes to photograph and monitor zoning violations, land use regulations, and water rights (including stormwater). Anyone who is interested can go down to the planning board and ask to see the aerial photographs of their property. If the person is the target of the local brown shirts, the surveillance is quite constant.
I bet that it’s going on in a lot of other states, as well.
This would seem like a reasonable first step, if you can't identify the drone, then no way can you identify the “pilot”.
Guess I better bury my cache now, else if I put it off any longer a Hellfire might take me out while I’m doing it.
Repeat after me:
“I had some guns, but I lost them in a boating accident. Shame, really...”
We’re all conspiracy theorists and just need to accept it.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2846702/posts
Who is flying?
“Hello, This is Peggy.”
The images were right up to the minute on my progress.
That spurred my journey to exit that city BTW and move to the country.
I remember O-bozo saying something like, “we need a civilian force, just as well equipped, well funded...”
Law enforcement agencies all across America are being armed to the teeth with advanced Kevlar, military grade ammo and weapons, armored vehicles, surveillance drones and the like.
Are WE the suspects? I thought this was a war on the terrorist. Why is the heartland coming under such scrutiny?
Is there credible information of an imminent terror attack within our borders? If so, say so.
Why are we allowing our liberties to be stripped so easily?
Our own government pressured and coerced law abiding gun dealers to sell rifles to questionable individuals supposedly to help track them to cartels, but secretly using the same program to attack the 2nd amendment.
This seems like uncle sugar's attacking American citizens...what gives?
First time a drone hits a private plane, who will get the blame?
In fact flew two just last weekend. I LOVE my new Albatros UV, but nothing beats my J-3 UV.
I currently building a DHC-2 Beaver UV.
I wonder if the Obama regime is gonna get me too....
They don’t use the photography on the cities around here, just the rural areas. The low flying helicopters are a form of harassment, as welll as being intrusive.
They train neighborhood brown shirts to report the violatons and ten go and photograph it. Once you get on the list, they hound you for everything.
They use the purchased photography for general surveillance, satellite photography of rural areas is just not frequent enough for their purposes .
They don’t use the photography on the cities around here, just the rural areas. The low flying helicopters are a form of harassment, as welll as being intrusive.
They train neighborhood brown shirts to report the violatons and ten go and photograph it. Once you get on the list, they hound you for everything.
They use the purchased photography for general surveillance, satellite photography of rural areas is just not frequent enough for their purposes .
You do know that the FAA wants to have involvement with the AMA, right?
R/C pilot here as well.
I don’t see how FAA would be able to keep tabs on RC pilots, though. A lot of my flying is in wilderness areas (slope flying sailplanes)...good luck tracking me down.
The only question is; kinetic or non-kinetic?
Not sure who ALL of the people are who are flying drones. But I do know the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department has one.
I’m not sure we’re completely right in assuming the local sheriffs will be on the side of the people.
Personally, I’m happy to read that the UN troops have switched from black helicopters to UAVs. Much more cost efficient.
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