Rep. Ted Poe of Texas is one of the growing number of privacy rights advocates who are sounding the alarm over the impending domestic use of drones by commercial entities and individuals. What will you think if and when an adversary or a snoopy neighbor or an employer or a business competitor decides to find out what you’re doing — from the air?
Drones are being used on a limited basis by some police and federal departments, but they will be available for commercial and private use in 2015.
This concerns lawmakers and Fourth Amendment advocates who fear that drone use will be abused and that Americans’ privacy rights will be eroded.
“When we see a drone in the air, it should be no surprise to us. Now is the time to start, not 2015,” Mr. Poe said Friday. “With the increased technology of surveillance, Congress has to be proactive in limiting drone use to law enforcement, and also protecting civilians from the private use of drones.”
