Michael Drobach, Executive Director, Small UAV Coalition comments on two bills in California:
Privacy matters. Giving consumers control of their personal information is central to many pieces of good legislation in California. Unfortunately, SB 142 (Jackson) – which is intended to provide privacy protections related to small, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) – will instead stifle innovation without providing real privacy protections. AB 856 (Calderon), on the other hand, does afford meaningful privacy protections. The juxtaposition between these two bills, both of which are currently on Governor Brown’s desk, is clear. A veto of SB 142 paired with a signing of AB 856 demonstrates a willingness to stand against hollow messaging legislation while supporting meaningful protections of privacy.
If an irresponsible operator spies on your family by flying a small UAV in his or her own yard, you have no recourse under SB 142. However, if a delivery drone with no recording mechanism flies over your property without your express permission to deliver a package of medical supplies to your neighbor, SB 142 considers it an invasion of privacy. If this doesn’t make sense to you from a privacy perspective, you are right.
Read more on Fox & Hounds.
Related:
AB 856: Invasion of privacy.
SB 142: Civil law: unmanned aerial vehicles