Documents
obtained by the ACLU have revealed that the U.S. Marshals Service has
experimented with using drones for domestic surveillance.
The documents,
available on the ACLU website, were released via a Freedom of Information Act
request.
The rights group
says that although the Marshals Service admitted it had found 30 pages of
information pertaining to its use of drones, it only actual handed over two,
which were heavily redacted, containing only two short paragraphs of visible
information.
Under the
heading “Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, Man-Portable (UAV) Program,” an agency
document overview states:
“USMS Technical
Operations Group’s UAV Program provides a highly portable, rapidly deployable
overhead collection device that will provide a multi-role surveillance platform
to assist in [redacted] detection of targets.”
A further
document reads:
“This
developmental program is designed to provide [redacted] in support of TOG
[Technical Operations Group] investigations and operations. This surveillance
solution can be deployed during [multiple redactions] to support ongoing
tactical operations.”
An LA Times
report earlier this month revealed more, stating:
“In 2004 and
2005, the U.S. Marshals Service tested two small drones in remote areas to help
them track fugitives, according to law enforcement officials and documents
released to the ACLU under the Freedom of Information Act. The Marshals Service
abandoned the program after both drones crashed.”
Expressing doubt
that these details cover the full scope of the Marshals’ drone use, ACLU says it
is “surprising” that what was purportedly “a small-scale experiment” still
remains secret after seven years.
“As drone use
becomes more and more common, it is crucial that the government’s use of these
spying machines be transparent and accountable to the American people. All too
often, though, it is unclear which law enforcement agencies are using these
tools, and how they are doing so.” a statement on the ACLU website
reads.
“We should not
have to guess whether our government is using these eyes in the sky to spy on
us.” the statement continues.
ACLU staff
attorney Catherine Crump added that “Americans have the right to know if and how
the government is using drones to spy on them.”
“Drones are too
invasive a tool for it to be unclear when the public will be subjected to them.”
Crump added. “The government needs to respect Americans’ privacy while using
this invasive technology, and the laws on the books need to be brought up to
date to ensure that America does not turn into a drone surveillance
state.”
There are
currently several bills on the table at the state and national level to reign in
the use of drones, and not without justification.
The FAA recently
released an updated list of domestic drone authorizations, showing more than 20
new drone operators, and bringing to 81 the total number of public entities that
have applied for FAA drone authorizations through October 2012.
After Congress
passed the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization last year, requiring
the FAA to permit the operation of drones weighing 25 pounds or less, observers
predicted that anything up to 30,000 spy drones could be flying in U.S. skies by
2020. infowars.com
In a major step
toward opening U.S. skies to thousands of unmanned drones, federal officials in
February solicited proposals to create six drone test sites around the country.
AP According to the
Department of Homeland Security’s website, the U.S. government has already been
using drones domestically for several years, but remains mostly mum on their
missions. RT Privacy
advocates worry that a proliferation of drones will lead to a "surveillance
society" in which the movements of Americans are routinely monitored, tracked,
recorded and scrutinized by the authorities. AP The prospect of
armed drones patrolling U.S. skies has alarmed some lawmakers and their
constituents. More than a dozen bills have been introduced in Congress and state
legislatures to curb drone use and protect privacy. AP A data dump of
government documents secured via the Freedom of Information Act, released in
August shows that the roll out of domestic unmanned drones will, for the most
part, be focused solely on the mass surveillance of the American people. Prison
Planet
AHT/ISH
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