Congress has really been busy, but with the issue of invasion of privacy that will allow drones to fly over US airspace and not the Job Act, Immigration, or other pressing problems. They passed a bill this past week to set guidelines for the FAA, (Federal Aviation Administration), to allow certification for government agencies and corporate interests to use drones over any and all US areas. I read the bill and there is very little about "unreasonable search and seizure" as it relates to the Fourth Amendment. This bill came about faster than the Patriot Act, and is far more invasive. The above photo is a collection of unmanned drones and illustrates their size variation. Missing is the quadracopter, a four motor multi-blade seeing eye menace.
We are all familiar with the drones used by the military to find and kill terrorists, and, to some extent, the use by Homeland Security, to fly over the border with Mexico. But, we will soon know about, but probably seldom see all kinds of drones in a place near you. There are already over 300 certificates issued by the FAA to government agencies and research institutions, but they won't say which ones are actively using drones. There is a lawsuit against the FAA to disclose these certificates.
It seems to me that there are three reasons for this demand for increased surveillance: Public safety, information, and money. Although the story will be that we need an increased capacity for safety, the bill was driven by companies that manufacture unmanned drones. There is a lot of money at stake, and we know what that means.
The trend? 10,000 drones in the air by 2015 and more to come. From cradle to grave, the government and industry will not only have vital statistics on everyone, they will have every computer keystroke and video on every step that we make. Seems like an invasion of privacy to me. See the full article in The Washington Times here.
We are all familiar with the drones used by the military to find and kill terrorists, and, to some extent, the use by Homeland Security, to fly over the border with Mexico. But, we will soon know about, but probably seldom see all kinds of drones in a place near you. There are already over 300 certificates issued by the FAA to government agencies and research institutions, but they won't say which ones are actively using drones. There is a lawsuit against the FAA to disclose these certificates.
It seems to me that there are three reasons for this demand for increased surveillance: Public safety, information, and money. Although the story will be that we need an increased capacity for safety, the bill was driven by companies that manufacture unmanned drones. There is a lot of money at stake, and we know what that means.
The trend? 10,000 drones in the air by 2015 and more to come. From cradle to grave, the government and industry will not only have vital statistics on everyone, they will have every computer keystroke and video on every step that we make. Seems like an invasion of privacy to me. See the full article in The Washington Times here.
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