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Texas Declares War on Drones

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Re: Texas Declares War on Drones

#5
What if I took a photo of someone on the ground on their own private property? That's not a crime right?

So whats the difference if I take a photo not from the ground? It suddenly becomes illegal?

Re: Texas Declares War on Drones

#8
Texas and its long tradition of "pride of independence" has, at best, only resulted in a parallel version of Federal Government policy. Undesirable Federal policy X will almost always still show up in Texas - it will just be presented and perceived as though it has been arrived-at independently as the will of Texans.

If sovereignty is your thing, other than a strong stand on gun rights there are states in the US with policy that correlates far less with D.C. and they don't make it their claim to fame either.

Re: Texas Declares War on Drones

#9
post #5

What if I took a photo of someone on the ground on their own private property? That's not a crime right? So whats the difference if I take a photo not from the ground? It suddenly becomes illegal?

It's a crime if you photograph them where they have a reasonable expectation of privacy [1]. That's generally easy to interpret for normal (ground) photography. But if I'm in my fenced backyard sunbathing nude and your drone photographs me, that could be up for debate/discussion.

It'll be interesting, that's for sure.

1. http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/andrewkantor/2...

Re: Texas Declares War on Drones

#10
This is a knee-jerk reaction to a situation that the Texas legislature really can't stop. Cameras are becoming more and more ubiquitous with or without drones.

Even with the law there's nothing stopping someone from posting illegally captured photos anonymously. The hobbyists will be ones that feel the impact of the law and the more clandestine drone operators that they aim to prevent will continue unabated.

I'm sure that in the not so distant future when any police officer can launch a drone all of these privacy worries will go right out the window.

In the words of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis, "Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants; electric light the most efficient policeman." The good news here is that thanks to technology, our future is definitely going to be a bright place for all of us whether we like it or not.

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