Originally Posted by
Biker395
I think our disconnect is that we are envisioning different circumstances.
I think the situation you're envisioning is someone flying a drone at low altitudes across a largely or sparsely uninhabited area that is private property, or at higher altitudes that are more densely populated. That doesn't trouble me so much, nor do I think it would constitute a tort (for nuisance, trespass or invasion of privacy) under common law .... it would depend on the circumstances.
The situation I envision is someone flying a drone at 10 feet or so into my back yard and loitering it there. That troubles me a lot, and likely would constitute a tort under common law.
Does that make sense?
BTW, the California legislation isn't law yet ... the Senate has to pass it (likely, as they have a similar bill pending), and the Governor must sign it ... (there is no telling what he'll do).
I did get what you were saying. I have imagined myself what I would do if a drone was hovering a few feet above my yard. Especially if my wife and 4 year old son were out. I would be angry, feel like someone was violating me for a cheap thrill, or worse. I can even understand the temptation to go full-on piņata whack on it. But unfortunately the law currently allows this pretty much everywhere. As you have pointed out, it really is a gap in privacy/trespass law that simply doesn't account for low-flying drones. But we have to abide the laws as they are until they are adapted to current circumstances. And I think a invasion of privacy case is not that strong because of difficulty of proving it. You'd have to get the images captured (and seizing them by force from a disabled drone opens up a whole slew of legal issues to me), and as I said, most 170 degree FOV cameras simply operating in broad daylight simply aren't going to be all that invasive and different from "public view" shots, even from 10' away.
I've thought long and hard about what I would do, and you may not believe me, but I thought about it some more over the past day in an effort to understand your point of view. In the end, I would call the police, try to find the operator, confront them calmly, and hope that with some police mediation, they would take their drone somewhere else, but knowing that my recourse is limited due to the current state of laws. I'd probably openly record my interaction with the drone guy. I think the perceived anonymity of a drone gives people a little more courage than they would have in person and on camera themselves.
Edit: Thanks for the clarification on the state of the CA bill. From the link you sent, I had thought it passed both houses and was just waiting for the governor to sign (which I would guess would be likely). When/if it does pass, it will be a good experiment into figuring out good public policy regarding this technology. I do not believe that people will ever have the right to knock drones out of the sky (other than emergency personnel under specific circumstances).