States have become extraordinarily active in legislation on the use of drones. For example, several place restrictions on law enforcement use, including Florida. Oregon prohibits a drone operator from using it to fire a bullet, shoot a laser or crash into an aircraft. In North Carolina, “it shall be a Class 1 misdemeanor for any person to fish or to hunt using an unmanned aircraft system,” per N.C. Gen. Stat. Ann. Section 14-401.24. And in Illinois, it is a crime to “use … a drone in a way that interferes with another person’s lawful taking of wildlife or aquatic life,” per Illinois Compiled Statutes, 720 ILCS 5/48-3. But the predominant topic for state legislation on drones has been privacy rights. This article addresses why states are regulating drone privacy, and some specific choices made around the country. Commercial entities intent on adopting drones need to pay close attention to actual and proposed laws on a state-by-state basis, to avoid criminal liability, statutory and liquidated damages, and other major civil liability.
The Boring State of Common Law on Visual Surveillance
“Video surveillance is poised for exponential expansion into a new dimension” by way of drones, the court held in Chapdelaine v. Duncan, 2014 BL 349464, 17 (Conn. Super. Ct. Oct. 28, 2014). Yet, state common law has traditionally provided extremely limited privacy rights in connection with actions taken in public or which are available from the public view.
