[2478] in Privacy_Forum
[ PRIVACY Forum ] Drones Set Sights on U.S. Skies
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (PRIVACY Forum mailing list)
Sat Feb 18 02:46:46 2012
Date: Fri, 17 Feb 2012 23:35:39 -0800
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Drones Set Sights on U.S. Skies
http://j.mp/zahqfM (This message on Google+)
- - -
http://j.mp/zOrMWX (New York Times)
"Under the new law, within 90 days, the F.A.A. must allow police and
first responders to fly drones under 4.4 pounds, as long as they keep
them under an altitude of 400 feet and meet other requirements. The
agency must also allow for "the safe integration" of all kinds of
drones into American airspace, including those for commercial uses, by
Sept. 30, 2015. And it must come up with a plan for certifying
operators and handling airspace safety issues, among other rules."
- - -
So the fellow they interviewed in this piece was flying his toy around
over my locale, eh? Hmm, I'll keep that in mind.
Anybody want to place some bets on how long it will be before inept
clowns fly their drones into somebody's wall? Or smash through a
window while spying or otherwise? Or crash on a car? Or a gas
station? Or power lines setting off a fire? Or a school playground
full of kids? There have been celebrated cases of cops abusing CCTV
cameras to spy on women. What do you think will happen with
commercial drones able to zoom in on people around their pools barely
clothed (or not at all?) How long before those vids show up
on the Net?
At the end of the piece, this fellow kinda jokingly suggests that
maybe operators should be checked to make sure they're not
"terrorists." Which certainly suggests some horror scenarios. Adding
the functionality to these drones to drop an explosive or incendiary
device -- or other toxic nightmares, would seem elementary.
All it might take is one highly publicized incident falling into any
of the above categories, and authorities plus drone manufacturers
alike, could be facing the proverbial mobs who will be armed with
torches, pitchforks, and worse. And with good reason.
--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein (lauren@vortex.com): http://www.vortex.com/lauren
Co-Founder: People For Internet Responsibility: http://www.pfir.org
Founder:
- Data Wisdom Explorers League: http://www.dwel.org
- Network Neutrality Squad: http://www.nnsquad.org
- Global Coalition for Transparent Internet Performance: http://www.gctip.org
- PRIVACY Forum: http://www.vortex.com
Member: ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com
Google+: http://vortex.com/g+lauren / Twitter: http://vortex.com/t-lauren
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800 / Skype: vortex.com
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