Aerial surveillance and the broad use of drones threaten to undermine the progress made in recent years to prevent unreasonable location tracking and government stockpiling of sensitive, personal information. With existing and emerging technologies, government may be able to use aerial surveillance to track our movements en masse and catalog participation in constitutionally protected activities such as protests, religious ceremonies, and political rallies.

Aerial Surveillance Can Be Incredibly Invasive

Existing technology that is affordable and in wide use allows law enforcement to spy on individuals over huge distances. The most prominent example is the DJI Zenmuse Z30 camera, which can be affixed to commonly used drone models such as the Inspire 2 and the Matrice. Chinese manufacturer DJI, the drone maker most favored by U.S. law enforcement, promotes the Zenmuse Z30 by describing it as “the most powerful integrated aerial zoom camera on the market with 30x optical and 6x digital zoom for a total magnification up to 180x.”