Makes It Illegal To Photograph Property From The Air Without Consent

The state of Texas has passed a law that can lead to penalties of up to $10,000 for using a UAV to take photographs of someone's property without their consent. The law went into effect September 1.

The law stemmed from an incident in which someone flying an RC airplane equipped with a camera captured images of a creek apparently filled with pig's blood, according to a report from the Associated Press. The photos, which were captured incidentally to the flight, led to fines being imposed against a meat packing plant for illegal dumping. Two of the plant's executives were charged with water pollution.

Now, the Texas legislature has made taking such photos a crime, punishable by a fine of up to $500. Civil penalties of up to $10,000 can be collected from the photographer is the person or organization whose property was captured in the images can show that they were "collected or distributed with malice."

Supporters of the bill say it goes a long way towards protecting individual privacy rights. "We didn't think that the Constitution gives someone the right to invade someone else's privacy," said Republican State Representative Lance Gooden, from Terrell, east of Dallas.

The law also limits the use of the aircraft by law enforcement, though there are more than 40 exceptions to those limits, as well as for civilian uses. Among them are anti-drug activities, and use within 25 miles of the U.S. border. Also exempt are students "conducting scholarly research", journalists and real-estate professionals.

Todd Humphreys, director of the University of Texas' Radionavagation Laboratory, said that the law was something of a knee-jerk reaction to the word "drone." He said almost nothing prohibited by the new law could not be accomplished by a person in an airplane or car with a camera and a long lens.

Meanwhile, Gooden said that the person who captured the photos of the creeks running red with pigs’ blood would have been protected by an exemption that allows UAVs to search for environmental hazards.

(Image from file)

FMI: www.capitol.state.tx.us