Municipal Agencies In Charlottesville Banned From Using Information Gathered By UAVs

A city in Virginia has become the first in the nation to ban its municipal agencies from using information gathered by UAVs it owns, leases, or borrows in Federal and state courts. And the resolution, passed 3-2 Monday by the Charlottesville, VA, city council, calls for strong privacy legislation from both the state and federal legislatures.

The resolution, which was proposed by the Charlottesville-based civil liberties group the Rutherford Institute, deals primarily with privacy. It "calls on the United States Congress and the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Virginia to adopt legislation prohibiting information obtained from the domestic use of drones from being introduced into a Federal or State court." The resolution further "pledges to abstain from similar uses with city-owned, leased, or borrowed drones."

According to a report appearing in US News online, Councilmember Dede Smith said that UAVs represent a "pretty clear threat" to citizen's right to privacy.

A draft resolution would have made Charlottesville a "no drone zone," meaning all UAS activity would have been banned in its airspace. It also would have placed an outright ban on city agencies testing, leasing, borrowing, or owning the aircraft. But the final language was softer.

Smith admitted that the resolution was largely symbolic, but that it might give other cities the impetus they need to pass similar resolutions. Vice Mayor Kirstin Szakos, one of two "no" votes on the resolution, said the move was not necessary right now. "At this point, the city isn't even talking about using drones. It seems premature to me to ban them altogether."

But don't worry, RC airplane enthusiasts near Charlottesville. The resolution makes exceptions "for hobbyists to fly remote controlled model aircraft and other unmanned aerial vehicles in specified areas, away from dwellings and the urban cityscape of people and buildings as long as those devices are not equipped to monitor any person or private residence or equipped with any weapon."

FMI: www.charlottesville.org/Index.aspx?page=15