Legislation to forbid alarming and increasingly not-so-hypothetical uses of unmanned aircraft was introduced in Congress Tuesday.

The Preserving American Privacy Act, sponsored by Reps. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., and Ted Poe, R-Texas, would make it illegal for Americans to use increasingly affordable drones to record other people's private moments, such as a neighbor using the bathroom.

The bill would also ban civilians and law enforcement alike from using drones mounted with firearms, and would require warrants before law enforcement officers use drones to surveil private property not in plain view or obtain information "reasonably likely to enable identification of an individual."

The bill as proposed would not establish specific penalties for civilians using drones to record audio or images in a manner “highly offensive to a reasonable person” where the subject has a reasonable expectation of privacy.



But it would allow for administrative discipline for officials who violate the law and would make illegally collected drone evidence inadmissible in court.

The legislation includes warrant exceptions in emergency situations and for flights within 25 miles of U.S. land borders.

Poe and Lofgren say the bill’s main target is government use of the technology and say it’s important to protect Americans’ Fourth Amendment rights as law enforcement outfits grasp for the devices.

“Privacy is a constitutional right and it ought to apply to drones,” Poe says.



“The Fourth Amendment enhances your ability to exercise your First Amendment rights,” Lofgren says, and free-wheeling drone use by authorities may have a chilling effect on citizens doing so.

“We don’t want to impair the use of technologies, but you also have to respect people’s constitutional rights,” she says.

As of December, 20 states had laws pertaining specifically to drones, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Some of the laws, such as those in Florida, Idaho and Illinois, require warrants for police use of the aircraft. A Virginia moratorium blocks drone use by police even with a warrant, except for in “humanitarian” situations such as search and rescue operations.

Lofgren says the federal bill, a version of which died in the last session of Congress, would set a nationwide standard for federal, state and local officials and would benefit people who live in states without drone-restricting laws.



Editorial Cartoons on Drones View All 25 Images

Federal Aviation Administration official Mark Bury said last month the main focus of the FAA -- which recently proposed rules for commercial drone use -- is to ensure safety, and that the agency therefore doesn't have a strong regulatory interest in preventing weaponized or window-peeping drones.