Eng 200 - Drones over America

Drones over America

Christina Steinke

English 200

February 14, 2018

Katie Kleier

Drones Over America

"The progression of drones is an immense business. 50 companies are developing roughly 150 systems, according to the Wall Street Journal, the drone industry that has reached $6 billion in sales in 2016" (Mulrine, 2015 p.2). Drones are a huge commodity in our society. What comes to mind when one hears the word drone? Some might have the flash of an image of little boys remotely flying their toys around the front yard. Drones have turned into so much more. Police are looking into the likelihood of buying drones to help increase their capabilities to catch criminal activities. Mass, (2017) reported in “The Argument” “Drones can be a very resourceful tool in police investigations.” (p.1) Police wanted help with finding missing people or help with search and rescues threatened by floods that make it difficult to find the injured people. Drones do not always serve the greater good of society. Today drones are being used to invade people’s privacy; there are many safety and warfare concerns. 

Privacy Concerns

When it comes to drones and privacy, it is difficult to say most people value another’s privacy. Will drones invade our privacy? Many people have issues with drone owners spying on them especially women.  Slayer of the drones Mr. Merideth was arrested on August 26 after shooting down a hobby drone that he alleges was flying over his yard and sun-bathing daughters.

  The writer describes how one woman’s privacy was violated using a drone. In Smith’s article (2015), “Invasion of the Drones,” the author retells an incident in which a woman privacy violated. “Sunbathing topless in the privacy of her secluded backyard when she heard something buzzing. In fact, it was a drone. Lingard was later horrified to discover a picture the drone had taken showing her naked body in billboard real estate ads” (Smith, 2015, Para 1). Police would like to use drones to help with the investigations. If police use drones to invade our privacy, then what lives do we live?  Some places in the world are already using drones to catch illegal activities. Mulrine, (2015) stated in “Drones over America: Public Safety Benefit or Creepy Privacy Threat” that “US Border Patrol has the country's largest fleet of UAVs for domestic surveillance, including nine Predator drones that patrol regions like the Rio Grande, searching for illegal immigrants and drug smugglers” (pg. 2 Para 2). Catching criminals is important. However, following a person with a drone can be viewed as invading our fourth amendment rights. In the article, “The Argument” Mass, goes on to explain, "Any criminal investigation that would require a warrant for surveillance should equally require a warrant for surveillance by drone. [It] would be a reasonable requirement that is in line with all other methods of surveillance during an investigation" (2017, Para 3). People's private lives matter. Drones are swiftly expanding the things they can do. If we are not careful soon, everyone will have a drone following them around watching our every move. Drones use needs stronger regulations before it gets too out of hand with people’s privacy.