The rising use of drones in general and by law enforcement agencies in particular understandably causes great discomfort. While surveillance and killer drones are robustly used by the military in foreign countries, enabling the NSA to surveil and attack terrorists by using a drone that is operated from thousands of miles away and flying over ten thousand feet in the air, the use of the same methods by the local Police Department in search for Marijuana fields seems less intuitively acceptable – and rightfully so. Luckily, for the most part, the drones used by local law enforcement officials cannot attack and do not possess the ability to surveil from such a significant distance and altitude. Rather, they use drones that are more similar to the ones used in movies or can be bought online for approximately $1000. So why do they still seem to pose a threat to our privacy? and how should Courts protect our privacy when their use is becoming more common?
SEARCHING FOR A RIGHT TO PRIVACY SCOTUS CANNOT SEIZE
The exponential advances in technology, globalization and the public’s dependence on digital media, all attribute to the proliferation of private and public information in cyberspace, diminishing the de facto privacy of people.
liron shilo Esq., doctoral candidate (s.J.D) Georgetown university law center 