MOSCOW, September 10 (RIA Novosti) – Following California, Wyoming lawmakers are considering a bill that would require law enforcement agencies to obtain a warrant for the use of unmanned aerial vehicles.
"Basically what it does is it asks that before any law enforcement uses a drone for any kind of searches that they get a warrant based on probable cause," Linda Burt, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union in Wyoming, told the Associated Press. "Because drones have such an incredible capability – they can be as tiny as a fly or as big as a plane – we know that they're going to be used extensively in different kinds of law enforcement endeavors," Burt added.
Wyoming Legislature's Joint Judiciary Committee is scheduled to hear a draft bill this week in Laramie. If approved, the full Legislature could consider the proposal early next year.
"I think this is just the beginning of more bills coming, because as these (drones) get smaller and smaller, and people are using these in odd places, not just flying over you but flying into your home, or flying near windows, that's going to get harder and harder to understand," Keith Gingery, Republican member of the Wyoming House of Representatives, co-chairman of the Joint Judiciary Committee, told the Associated Press.
In contrast, Byron Oedekoven, executive director of the Wyoming Association of Sheriffs and Chiefs of Police, is skeptical of the new initiative and finds requiring law enforcement to get a warrant to use drones excessive and unnecessary, according to Associated Press.
Five days ago the American Civil Liberties Union published a petition on its website urging Governor of California, Jerry Brown, to sign the Assembly Bill (AB) 1327 that would ban usage of surveillance drones by law enforcement agencies without a warrant. In its petition, ACLU refers to a poll conducted in 2012, which found that 76 percent of Americans agreed that police should get a warrant before using unmanned aerial vehicles.
"We are united because we believe it's a basic American principle that police need a warrant before they can invade our privacy and put us under surveillance. California leads the nation in technological innovation. It should also lead the nation in protecting the privacy of its citizens. AB 1327 is a positive step forward for civil rights and public safety," the petition reads.
Moreover, the Electronic Frontier Foundation advocates further restrictions, and insists that the bill should require the federal government to make information on who is authorized to fly the drones public.
With the advent of new policing technologies, American society faces new dilemmas. Drones have evoked unusual discomfort in the public consciousness, prompting local and state lawmakers from Seattle to Tallahassee to outline how they can be used by police.
Nine states: Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Montana, Oregon, Tennessee, Utah and Wisconsin already have warrant requirements in place.
