The New Drones' Law in Florida
A couple of years ago, hobbyists operated drones in the Patrick Air Force Base as they took photos of the Banana River, which borders that Air Force Base. While doing such, their remote piloted vehicles entered the restricted areas of the Air Base, creating a potential tragedy to the pilots in the area. According to the area's Chief of Safety, these self-driven vehicles ran the risk of getting stuck in the aircraft's engines or putting a pole in a wing, causing a devastating incidence.
That was when all the states in the country realized that these remotely controlled, and unmanned in-flight vehicles were not just military gadgets. They were trivial and inexpensive drones that were getting into the hands of businesses and civilians. Usually the weight of a bottle of beer, this new category of drones were being used by insurance adjustors, hobbyists, farmers, event promoters, real estate promoters and many others. They were infused with high definition cameras allowing them to take photos or videos from every possible angle, a capability that was quite impossible several decade ago. As such, the unmanned aircraft industry in the country has swiftly grown with public corporations, research institutes and private companies manufacturing new, craftier, state-of-arts and sophisticated drones every year.
After top lawyers, regulators, and property rights advocates raised questions about the freedom from unauthorized surveillance practices, a new law is being adopted in Florida to regulate this unmanned vehicles when it comes to people's privacy. This new law condemn the use a drone to access real-time images of an occupant, a tenant, a real estate property, a licensee or an invitee with the intent of conducting surveillance without his or her prominent accord. The new law also require the owners to register their tool with the Federal Aviation Administration in order to work through the legal labyrinth of copyright, liability and property laws.
This new law has additionally sparked a lot of controversy with the lawyers claiming that they cannot imagine actual damages caused by drones being that high. According to them, there has got to be a perpetual record of the pertained surveillance as well as a proof of intent to commit the alleged surveillance. This means that if a court say that the accused is due $500 in damages, then the defendant has to pay five times the amount to his or her attorney in order to litigation.
As the law enforcement agencies continue to contemplate how this law will be enforced, the new piece of technology continue to disrupt the aspect of privacy that has been built for so many years. This leaves people with a lot of expectations from the legal framework (courts). With an officer only allowed to respond to a call or write an investigative report (cannot make an arrest) something will have to be figured out sooner and not later.
CORAL SPRINGS
FL 33067
