Drones And the Future of Aerial Surveillance

Tomorrow at UC Davis School of Law, I will be presenting my paper “Domestic Drones and the Future of Aerial Surveillance.”  The event will begin at 12 noon and Professor Elizabeth Joh will be providing commentary.  The event is open to the public, however the hosts are requesting pre-registration here.

Here is an excerpt from the paper abstract:

The use of drones systems raises serious questions about modern conceptions of privacy. This article examines the constitutional doctrine related to aerial surveillance and technology, and finds that current doctrine is unlikely to prevent the use of unmanned systems. The article proposes a series of legislative solutions intended to place surveillance by drones on the same legal footing as surveillance by manned aircraft — a status quo solution. The paper then analyzes the circumstances under which that new status quo may break down, and proposes remedies that could be implemented depending upon the nature of the emergent privacy harms.