Maine Senate Votes to Require Warrants for Drone Surveillance

AUGUSTA - The Maine State Senate took a stand for privacy when it voted tonight 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 requires the police to get a warrant in most cases before using surveillance drones. It makes exceptions for emergency situations such as search and rescue.  It requires the police to tell people when they are being surveilled 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 Oamshri Amarasingham, public policy counsel for the ACLU of Maine:

"With this vote, the Maine Senate recognized the importance of protecting Mainers' privacy. Drones can have very valid uses such as search and rescue in remote areas,  but Mainers should not have to live in fear of drones hovering over their backyards watching them and their families. The House should join the Senate in passing the minority report,  which is the only version that contains the necessary privacy protections."