Those who know me know that I love gadgets. Most of the time, I imagine I have a need that the newest toy will fix, at least until the next one comes along. But, despite my best efforts, I have not been able to create an issue that will justify me buying a drone.
Over the last year, I have seen a lot of stories about drones being used for legitimate commercial and emergency purposes, such as delivering merchandise, food, and even medical aid. At this point, though, I can think of only one reason for a personal drone: to spy on my neighbors.
Apparently that’s what William Meredith, of Bullit County, Kentucky, thought when he shot down David Boggs’ drone with a shotgun. According to a report on WDRB.com, Meredith was charged with criminal mischief and wanton endangerment when he blasted Boggs’ drone as it flew over his property.
At trial, Meredith testified that Boggs’ drone was spying on his family. After two witnesses testified the drone was flying below the tree line, the judge dismissed the criminal charges against Meredith. The judge said, “He had a right to shoot at the drone, and I’m going to dismiss the charge.” A video of the story is here.
In the wake of Meredith’s case, a Kentucky legislature has introduced a drone-harassment bill for the 2016 legislative season.
The invasion of privacy caused by new technology is a familiar issue, but the personal use of drones takes the issue to a different level. Cyber spying is one thing. Drones, however, allow a distant operator to observe and record an individual’s physical activities without their knowledge.
These privacy concerns led Tennessee to enact a drone-harassment statute, similar to what Kentucky is considering, which became effective on July 1, 2015. The statute makes the using a drone to take pictures of an individual or private property with the intent to conduct surveillance a Class C misdemeanor. It is also a crime to use a drone to take pictures of individuals at a ticketed event of more than 100 people without the venue owner or operator’s consent. The statute can be found at T.C.A. § 39-13-903.
Privacy concerns also limit how pictures taken from drones can be used in legal proceedings. A recent Tennessee law prohibits images taken in violation of the drone-harassment statute from being used as evidence in any criminal or juvenile proceeding, civil action or administrative hearing. Further, such images are not subject to discovery, subpoena or other means of legal compulsion for production or disclosure. (T.C.A. § 39-13-905)
Another Tennessee statute, T.C.A. § 39-13-609, enacted in 2013 equates law enforcement’s use of a drone to gather information or evidence on criminal suspects with traditional police searches. Except in limited circumstances, those drone searches must comport with the protections provided by the U.S. and Tennessee constitutions.
Just like I will always find a use for new gadgets, businesses will find ways to incorporate new technology into delivering services to their customers. Tennessee’s recent laws restricting the use of drones for personal surveillance are just the tip of the privacy iceberg.
The commercial use of drones will open a whole new field of privacy concerns which have never been addressed. Will retailers be able to use drones to track your physical activities to predict your buying habits, just as they track the websites you visit? Will law enforcement be able to subpoena data collected by the commercial use of drones, just like they subpoenaed customer use information from wireless providers?
It will take some time for these questions to be answered. In the meantime, we strongly caution against shooting at your neighborhood drones.
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