Congress passed a bill this week allowing the government to fly unmanned spy planes in the U.S.
The FAA Reauthorization Act, which President Obama reportedly signed, orders the Federal Aviation Administration to develop regulations for the licensing of commercial drones by 2013.
Privacy advocates say the measure will lead to widespread use of drones for electronic surveillance by police agencies across the country and eventually by private companies as well. They fear that law enforcement will actually use the drones in attacks against criminals in the U.S.
“There are serious policy questions on the horizon about privacy and surveillance, by both government agencies and commercial entities,” said Steven Aftergood, who heads the Project on Government Secrecy at the Federation of Aviation Scientists.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation also is “concerned about the implications for surveillance by government agencies,” said attorney Jennifer Lynch.
The provision in the legislation is the fruit of “a huge push by lawmakers and the defense sector to expand the use of drones” in American airspace, she added.
According to some estimates, the commercial drone market in the United States could be worth hundreds of millions of dollars once the FAA clears their use.
The agency projects that 30,000 drones could be in the nation’s skies in the next few years.
The highest-profile use of drones by the United States has been in the CIA’s armed Predator-drone program, which targets al Qaeda terrorist leaders. But the vast majority of U.S. drone missions, even in war zones, are flown for surveillance. Some drones are as small as model aircraft, while others have the wingspan of a full-size jet.
The legislation orders the FAA, before the end of the year, to expedite the process through which it authorizes the use of drones by federal, state and local police and other agencies. The FAA currently issues certificates, which can cover multiple flights by more than one aircraft in a particular area, on a case-by-case basis.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection, an agency within the Department of Homeland Security, operates nine drones, variants of the CIAs feared Predator. The aircraft, which are flown remotely by a team of 80 fully qualified pilots, are used principally for border and counternarcotics surveillance under four long-term FAA certificates.
Officials say they can be used on a short-term basis for a variety of other public-safety and emergency-management missions if a separate certificate is issued for that mission.
“It’s not all about surveillance,” Mr. Aftergood said.
Homeland Security has deployed drones to support disaster relief operations. Unmanned aircraft also could be useful for fighting fires or finding missing climbers or hikers, he added.
President Obama is reportedly excited about the use of drones on U.S. citizens. “The President wants to be able to keep a close eye on citizens that may not agree with him on certain policy issues,” said a source close to an aide near the White House. “He likes uses drones abroad and now he’s going to use them on Americans. He’s thrilled.”
You can bet a lot of the gun toting citizens will be taking pot shots at those drones if this bill is passed.
Love how you try to make this all about Obama…as if this wasn't majority voted on by Repubs in the Senate and House.
It is about Obama stupid – – – read the last paragraph- – – HE WANTS TO SPY ON US!!!
Trip…… you are very ignorant.
President Obama is reportedly excited about the use of drones on U.S. citizens. ”The President wants to be able to keep a close eye on citizens that may not agree with him on certain policy issues,” said a source close to an aide near the White House. ”He likes uses drones abroad and now he’s going to use them on Americans. He’s thrilled.”
Bizarre.
What if one of these things should crash into a crowd, into a city, into a residential area, onto a university campus?
Collateral damage cannot be allowed to stop the war on "bad guys" anywhere. When the authorities "deem" somebody is "linked" to "suspected" bad guys, they must be "taken out", even if it means a few "innocent" civilians are injured or killed. Besides, any cop can tell you there is no such thing as an "innocent" person, everybody is guilty of something. Better to take no chances, to "kill 'em all, and let God sort 'em out".
no problem!
YOU WILL BE AN EXAMPLE AND WERE PROBABLY A SPY TARGET, AND THE LITTLE DRONE MISSED!!!
CAPT. AMERICA
Aircraft are already over the USA that never blink and are capable of watching an entire city, recording it, rewinding video in order to trace individuals, track behavior and record the free movement of a democratic society by LOCAL POLICE such as in PA. (persistentsurveillance.com). As this technology gains PERSISTENT capability through the use of Long Endurance Aircraft such as spy blimps and Reapers (with a newly extended loiter time of 2 days) it suggests a serious chilling effect to political speech, activism, protests and freedom of assembly in the United States. The ARGUS, GORGON STARE and ANGELFIRE systems, as well as Blue Devil and WAPS systems in general, are extremely volatile tools that need to be kept strictly in a non-Homeland Security, non-domestic, non-police arena for exclusive use OUTSIDE the USA. These technologies turned towards domestic security or police actions are an existential threat to personal liberty and a democratic society.
Wait till one of these brings down a passenger plane. The skies are crowded enough now without the govt. spying.
We have been seeing manned drones for years…..think about it folks, helicopters in the cities with cameras and planes over highways checking speed. The only difference is the word DRONE….simply unmanned.
OH BOY TARGETS for us now any fly overhead an it will land like a thud !! getting as bad, no no worse than GERMANY during HITLERS REGIME !!!! first TAKE their weapons second SPY ON EM !! next shoot em .
I say shoot em down at first sight !!!
Use a "High Powered" paint ball gun to mess up it's windshield (camera) this ought to fun for a while. I heard today that they really are concerned about jamming! It seems as though hackers in the U.S. are better at confusing these things than our enemies! I guess that is somewhat good!
Guess now our Governments at war with the USA. There goes more freedom in the war or terror. Who really won the terrorist that cost us trillions to stop them. Which the USA can't do they only close the barn when the cattle get out. And make it harder for the people of this country to fly and now cost us more money we don't have.
Scary, really scary. Soon these SAME drones will be equipped with arsenals, capable of taking out large groups of armed individuals… or… just law abiding citizens that they thought were armed individuals. Scary? Yes.
Scary, really scary. Soon these SAME drones will be equipped with arsenals, capable of taking out large groups of armed individuals… or… just law abiding citizens that they thought were armed individuals. Scary? Yes.
When you, the public, wakes up to figure out the government is composed of local thugs, the mob, then you might figure out you, the public, just got ripped off again as corporate interest send the unmanned drones to impose their owners arsenals. Which is probably why, Obama does you have to unmanned drones or firearms, to make you a sitting target.
The government is elected from a minority of blockheads vs. the rest of you. So, that group of blockheads really want to use another group as the targets and the next group of ''terrorist'' to aim the taxpayers at eliminating. Then you can all sit there under the unmanned drones, place your head between your needs, and kiss yourself goodbye and pray for aliens to attack for you.
Robert Sherman Nix III aka Demonmocker
The Tory Party 1783; Joy, Jubilee of Yeoman
Chipmunka Publishing
To say again, The givement or government is composed of locals you went to school with that didn't want you going to school and they want to be fair to themselves. If you are common riff-raff, you got to look forward to being the target of the drones because, somebody has to be the target, you know. THE LOCAL COPS, RIGHT, the local mob and the local judge will get their drone and blow away their competition. OH NO, drones are to help you. The more you labor, the more you dig your own graves and some immigrants will be gunning you down from their tech-support center while Obama flies away to Mars to be safe and be where you really can't get them. There you got the government in heaven shooting you down. They will probably get the alines or aliens upset at everybody.
Robert Sherman Nix III
FEC 2008
TORY PARTY 1783, JOY JUBILEE OF YEOMAN LOYALIST
Welcome to nazi Amerika
When they came for the guns you did nothing , because you dont own a gun,
when they came for the Patriots you did nothing because you wernt a patriot,
NOW THEY ARE COMING FOR YOU !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
When you, the public, wakes up to figure out the government is composed of local thugs, the mob, then you might figure out you, the public, just got ripped off again as corporate interest send the unmanned drones to impose their owners arsenals. Which is probably why, Obama does you have to unmanned drones or firearms, to make you a sitting target.
You are right my husband MARCUS PENN INJURED IN DRONE ATTACK in 2011 in his home a 9th floor apt in MD later executed by feds because he knew too much. I am Targeted Individual now because they want me to shut up but I want justice. Pat Sears on Facebook
They have been planning this for years. Since the early days of WW2 till now. Even hundreds of years ago. Since they planned the Twin Towers collapse till the our current war. The Worlds Government needed this final stepping stone. They are slowly invading privacy and taking over the planet and all of our freedoms. They are no more worst than Hitler and Stalin. These dam Freemasons and the other little pagan socities just want more power and control. They have already started within the classrooms of our children. Obama is one one of those members whom wish to control you. Ill make sure that wont happen. Ill use my abilities to change it all. Perhaps a storm or a Rock from the heavens