By Rand Paul
Obama acts as though we no longer have a Constitution
The federal government is pushing back against reports that it has drones specifically designed to track firearms and cellphone signals, the latest clash of an increasingly paranoid public and an administration trying to keep its unmanned aerial systems program under wraps.
The drone industry isn't flying under the radar anymore. As industry leaders, government and military officials gather this week in Northern Virginia, the "unmanned vehicle systems" sector faces mounting questions on all sides, including privacy concerns, hostile state and local laws, and constitutional battles over the roles of drones in the modern U.S. military arsenal.
Big Brother and Big Business may soon be able to easily spy on American citizens using surveillance drones, security and civil liberties specialists warned Tuesday.
The unmanned eye in the sky now has a rule book to follow.
Look! Up in the sky! Is it a bird? Is it a plane? It's ... a drone, and it's watching you. That's what privacy advocates fear from a bill Congress passed this week to make it easier for the government to fly unmanned spy planes in U.S. airspace.
"Congress can do more," said Amie Stepanovich, an attorney with the Electronic Privacy Information Center who also testified at Wednesday's hearing.
Many questions, few answers as Capitol Hill weighs drones, privacy →
"That includes two-thirds of the population that they're saying has a decreased expectation of privacy. It includes New York City, it includes Chicago, it includes San Diego," said Amie Stepanovich, an attorney with the Electronic Privacy Information Center, which last summer filed the request for documents on Customs and Border Protection's drone program.
