Lawmakers Balance Personal Privacy with Drone Use for Public Safety

The use of aerial drones is becoming a more popular and practical tool in both the private and public sectors. A bicameral, bipartisan group of state lawmakers met Wednesday, July 24, to review whether Minnesotans privacy is adequately protected with the increasing use of the aerial tools by law enforcement officials.

Law enforcement officials and public interest representatives appeared before the Subcommittee on Data Practices to offer their views on SF 1263, a bill establishing a search warrant requirement with specified exceptions, including emergency situations or a terrorist attack.

Julia Decker of the American Civil Liberties Union said, "Unregulated, warrant-less drone operations by law enforcement pose a threat to constitutional rights. These operations have the potential to interfere with Minnesotans' reasonable expectations of privacy, chill first amendment protected activities and lead to discriminating activities."

Dakota County Sheriff Tim Leslie said, "Our policy and our use is narrowly scoped." He said that his agency has used a drone 49 times, mainly for crime scene mapping and photography. Other uses included search and rescue efforts. "We have a lot of parks, a lot of trails in Dakota County. If someone doesn't come back home, it's a nice tool for law enforcement to have, to be able to call upon to put another perspective out there."

The subcommittee will continue examining the use of drones and other electronic communication tools to determine whether legislation will be introduced in 2020 to protect personal privacy.