{"id":8008,"date":"2012-11-27T08:24:16","date_gmt":"2012-11-25T16:43:20","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2012-11-25T16:43:20","slug":"en-US","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fourthamendment.com\/?p=8008","title":{"rendered":"Houston Chronicle: “Drone makers push Congress to open skies to surveillance”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Houston Chronicle: Drone makers push Congress to open skies to surveillance<\/a> by Gary Martin:<\/p>\n

WASHINGTON – Are unmanned aircraft, known to have difficulty avoiding collisions, safe to use in America’s crowded airspace? And would their widespread use for surveillance result in unconstitutional invasions of privacy?<\/p>\n

Experts say neither question has been answered satisfactorily. Yet the federal government is rushing to open America’s skies to tens of thousands of the drones – pushed to do so by a law championed by manufacturers of the unmanned aircraft.<\/p>\n

The 60-member House of Representatives’ “drone caucus” – officially, the House Unmanned Systems Caucus – has helped push that agenda. And over the last four years, caucus members have drawn nearly $8 million in drone-related campaign contributions, an investigation by Hearst Newspapers and the Center for Responsive Politics shows.<\/p>\n

. . .<\/p>\n

Privacy concerns<\/strong> <\/p>\n

Some lawmakers remain skeptical. Along with civil rights advocates, they worry over government eavesdropping, surveillance photography and other potential privacy violations.<\/p>\n

“The drones are coming,” shouted Rep. Ted Poe, R-Humble, earlier this year from the House floor, as he warned of encroachment by government into the rights of citizens.<\/p>\n

A North Dakota court upheld the arrest of a Lakota, N.D., farmer by a police SWAT team using information from a Customs and Border Protection Predator drone over the northern U.S.-Canadian border.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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