Maine House Joins Senate on Warrants for Drone Surveillance

AUGUSTA - The Maine State House followed the Senate in taking a stand for privacy when it voted today in favor of the minority report for LD 236, which would require a warrant before police could use drones to spy on people in most cases.

The LD 236 minority report is the only version of the bill that includes the necessary privacy protections, according to the ACLU. It requires the police to get a warrant in most cases before using surveillance drones, makes exceptions for emergency situations such as search and rescue, and requires the police to tell people when they are being tracked and gives them an opportunity to go to court. It also outlaws equipping drones with any weapons or facial recognition technology except for research and development.

The following can be attributed to Shenna Bellows, executive director of the ACLU of Maine:

"Today, the Maine legislature has taken an historic stand for the Constitution and the privacy of all Mainers. We should not have to live under the constant watchful eye of the government – tracking, recording and scrutinizing our every move with unmanned aircraft. We are now a giant step closer to bringing our laws up to speed with advancing technology."

More information about the LD 236 minority report is available here.