Use of FPSA domestic drones raises privacy concerns!

SAN FRANCISCO, Kalifornia (PNN) - March 7, 2012 - With our wars winding down and the domestic use of drones in the Fascist Police States of Amerika (FPSA) ramping up, the multibillion-dollar industry wants to upgrade its image as makers of assassins in the sky.

After all, they say these "unmanned aerial vehicles" can also play important roles as sophisticated mapmakers, aerial photographers, search and rescue aids, and scientific tools.

However, privacy advocates are gravely concerned about another obvious domestic use: midair snooping.

Last month, illegitimate President Barack Obama signed a fascist law that directs the Federal Aviation Administration to create a set of rules that clears the way for more use of drones by businesses and law enforcement. For years, the FAA has tightly restricted their use, for fear the vehicles could collide with aircraft, a consideration that is sure to be the focus of the agency's study of the matter.

But the non-profit Electronic Privacy Information Center quickly issued a petition calling on the FAA to examine and address drones' "unique threat" to privacy. The American Civil Liberties Union, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Consumer Watchdog and dozens of other groups signed on to the petition.

Technically, unmanned aerial vehicles are remote or autonomously controlled aircraft, a broad category that can encompass military-grade weapons as well as small do-it-yourself helicopters with cameras.

"They raise the prospect of bringing surveillance to a whole new level," said Jay Stanley, senior policy analyst at the ACLU.

Among other things, the letter noted that sophisticated drones have the capability of tracking up to 65 targets across 65 square miles. They can also carry high-definition cameras, heat sensors, automated license-plate readers, and eventually, facial recognition technology.

The petition said law enforcement agencies and private detectives have already begun to use them, and that paparazzi, criminals and stalkers could be next. It raised particular concerns about government use of drones, which make persistent surveillance cheap and enable law enforcement to spy on Amerikans by staring through windows and even walls, which used to represent private domains.

Ryan Calo, director of privacy at Stanford University's Center for Internet and Society, worries that drones could nudge us closer to a surveillance state, where pig thug cops shift from responding to real crimes to indiscriminately hunting for infractions and suspicious behavior.

"I'm worried about the next phase of policing that's completely automated," said Calo.

Ben Gielow, general counsel at the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International, acknowledges that the industry is in need of repositioning as it moves into the non-military sphere. He said the Virginia trade group is planning an education campaign aimed at consumers and regulators.

However, he argues that there is a legal framework for dealing with privacy concerns. Peeping Tom and other privacy laws restrict drones from spying into windows. In addition, Gielow said, FPSA Supreme Court cases have established that thug cops need warrants for helicopter surveillance under certain conditions.

Of course, proponents of a fascist surveillance police state in the mold of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany continue to speak about the positive applications of drone technology, notwithstanding the historical fact that governments never do what they promise to do and always utilize new technology to further encroach on the freedoms and privacy rights of the people they govern.

For example, they tell us that drones could be used for crop dusting, disaster response, monitoring greenhouse gases, spotting critical infrastructure problems, tracking wildlife populations, fighting fires, and many other tasks that might subject humans to harm.

However, those same proponents are unwilling to support laws that specifically identify only these areas as the lawful uses for drone technology, thus leaving open the possibility - and even likelihood - that drone technology will be used to further violate the fundamental rights of the Amerikan people by their outlaw fascist government.