September 19, 2012
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford
Institute, is calling on the United States Senate Judiciary Committee to
protect the privacy and civil liberties of American citizens from
police use of unmanned aerial vehicles,
commonly known as drones. In the wake of the passage of the FAA
Reauthorization Act, it is expected that at least 30,000 drones will
occupy U.S. airspace by 2020. In alerting the Senate Judiciary Committee
to the dangers posed by drones to citizens’ privacy and civil
liberties, The Rutherford Institute has made model legislation
available, titled “Freedom from Drone Surveillance Act,” that would not
only prohibit the federal government from using data recorded via police
spy drones in criminal prosecutions but would also prevent police
agencies from utilizing drones outfitted with anti-personnel devices
such as tasers and tear gas.
The Rutherford Institute’s letter to the Committee on the Judiciary, model drone legislation and companion fact sheet are available at www.rutherford.org.
“These drones—aerial, robotic threats to privacy and security—are being
unleashed on the American populace before any real protocols to protect
our privacy rights have been put in place and in such a way as to
completely alter the landscape of our lives and our freedoms,” said
Whitehead. “It is critical that Congress not only give serious
consideration to the dangers posed to our freedoms by these aerial
devices but ensure that the American people are protected against any
resulting incursions on their rights as provided for by the U.S.
Constitution.”
