this post was submitted on 02 Sep 2023

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New York Police Will Use Drones To Monitor Backyard Parties This Weekend, Spurring Privacy Concerns (apnews.com)

submitted 2 years ago by shreddy_scientist@lemmy.ml to c/privacy@lemmy.ml

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[–] Skoobie@lemmy.film 31 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

So this means I'm allowed to fly my drone over prison yards then, right?

Edit: Also, doesn't that then make it legal for folks to capture the drones? It's on their property.

[+] CubbyTustard@reddthat.com 28 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (2 children)

[deleted]

[–] Skoobie@lemmy.film 10 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Wait, we don't own our property airspace? So then, and I'm not being facetious, the entire plot of the 2010 film Burlesque is complete bullshit?

I figured a drone over a prison was a no and I was just being humorous but the citizen's lack of property airspace sucks. I get it for like a mile above your house because of planes, but drone height? That's stupid.

What if the drone touches the ground or a surface that connects to the ground like a rooftop? Is it fair game then?

[–] gullible@kbin.social 11 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (2 children)

Pretty sure you own ~100 feet above, 20 feet below and nothing further. If the police stay above a hundred feet then there’s no legal recourse for their spying. And now I’m going to read the article to learn why they’re spying on peoples’ 9/11 parties.

Edit: “an annual Caribbean festival marking the end of slavery that brings thousands of revelers”

[–] Skoobie@lemmy.film 6 points 2 years ago (1 children)

My best guess is simply that it's Labor Day weekend. People party a decent bit over it. And when people party, there's a chance for cops to make some money, I mean arrests for dangerous dangerous crimes against society.

[–] gullible@kbin.social 7 points 2 years ago

I ninja’d you. It’s black people. They deployed drones because of black people. If police weren’t so eager to fit their stereotype, this would almost be unexpected.

[–] cobra89@beehaw.org 4 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

There is an expectation of privacy in the United States, and currently drones are in a legal grey area where case law hasn't really been established yet.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expectation_of_privacy_(United_States)

This is why the the ACLU recommends the following safeguards:

Usage Limits: A drone should be deployed by law enforcement only with a warrant, in an emergency, or when there are specific and articulable grounds to believe that the drone will collect evidence relating to a specific criminal act.

Data Retention: Images should be retained only when there is reasonable suspicion that they contain evidence of a crime or are relevant to an ongoing investigation or trial.

Policy: Usage policy on drones should be decided by the public’s representatives, not by police departments, and the policies should be clear, written, and open to the public.

Abuse Prevention and Accountability: Use of domestic drones should be subject to open audits and proper oversight to prevent misuse.

Weapons: Domestic drones should not be equipped with lethal or non-lethal weapons.

Edit: formatting

[–] WhyEssEff@hexbear.net -5 points 2 years ago (1 children)

sicko-wistful

[–] Tankiedesantski@hexbear.net 14 points 2 years ago

In dystopia authoritarian China, the police fly drones over citizens having weekend parties on their own property.

[–] Rai@lemmy.dbzer0.com 13 points 2 years ago (4 children)

What are they even looking for?

[–] EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted@lemmy.blahaj.zone 12 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

They don't have a specific objective, and that's the problem.

[–] possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip 12 points 2 years ago

I honestly don't know. Maybe they could equipt them with powerful microphones that can record the conversations of the people below. They would help with putting a stop to thought crime. The police could then use automated speech analysis to determine if you are comiting thought crime and activate the appropriate response.

Afyer the initial reponse they could remove the person and their friends and family from society. It would be a challenging task updating the records to show that these terrorists never existed. You would also need to make sure that the people around are aware that there own memories are wrong.

[–] krolden@lemmy.ml 2 points 2 years ago

Political organizers

[–] elouboub@kbin.social 0 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Did you even read the article?

[–] cobra89@beehaw.org 0 points 2 years ago (1 children)

“If a caller states there’s a large crowd, a large party in a backyard, we’re going to be utilizing our assets to go up and go check on the party,”

What does "check on" mean? It really doesn't say what they're looking for, just an arbitrary description of "large crowd".

[–] melroy@kbin.melroy.org 0 points 2 years ago (1 children)

The party will just be aborted and stopped. Obviously..

[–] DahGangalang@infosec.pub 1 points 2 years ago

Like, if there was a restrictions to how large a party can be (say in response to the current wave of COVID cases), this would make sense.

I disagree with this being a reasonable measure, but at least it would make sense as to why they want to do it, ya know?

As it is, it sounds like NYPD is just trying to use all their budget so they don't lose it next year or whatever.

[–] aaaaaaadjsf@hexbear.net 11 points 2 years ago

This is the one time Americans could put their guns to good use...

[–] library_napper@monyet.cc 9 points 2 years ago

Abolish the NYPD

[–] cobra89@beehaw.org 8 points 2 years ago

Cory Doctorow was right.

[–] autotldr@lemmings.world 7 points 2 years ago

This is the best summary I could come up with:

The New York City police department plans to pilot the unmanned aircrafts in response to complaints about large gatherings, including private events, over Labor Day weekend, officials announced Thursday.

The plan drew immediate backlash from privacy and civil liberties advocates, raising questions about whether such drone use violated existing laws for police surveillance

“It’s a troubling announcement and it flies in the face of the POST Act,” said Daniel Schwarz, a privacy and technology strategist at the New York Civil Liberties Union, referring to a 2020 city law that requires the NYPD to disclose its surveillance tactics.

The move was announced during a security briefing focused on J’ouvert, an annual Caribbean festival marking the end of slavery that brings thousands of revelers and a heavy police presence to the streets of Brooklyn.

But as the technology proliferates, privacy advocates say regulations have not kept up, opening the door to intrusive surveillance that would be illegal if conducted by a human police officer.

Cahn, the privacy advocate, said city officials should be more transparent with the public about how police are currently using drones, with clear guardrails that prevent surveillance overreach in the future.

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