FAA ready to approve unmanned planes for local government

All those people upset over – or obsessed with – smart meters, take note: The next perceived invasion of your privacy will make you not want to step out of your house.

According to Politico, the FAA is about to grant approval to the widespread use of drone aircraft, mini versions of the unmanned Predators the military uses to spy on our enemies. That’s right, local governments, companies and individuals could soon fly over-sized radio-controlled airplanes above your head, leaving open the possibility that some of these unmanned aircraft may be equipped with high-powered video equipment.

The pending FAA rule will limit this new generation of UAVs to 55 pounds and would mandate that the aircraft must remain in sight of the operator at all times.

Still, if the technology becomes widespread, Politico reports that “police departments can use UAVs to replace or supplement costly and dangerous helicopter surveillance, companies can use them to watch far-flung interests such as oil fields, and utilities can use them to monitor mile after mile of power lines.”

Catherine Crump, a staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union in New York, told Politico that, though small UAVs may sound innocuous, they can contain high-powered spying equipment, including: cameras with zoom lenses so strong that they can see things not perceived by the human eye; thermal-imaging equipment that can peek through walls; and night-vision cameras.

Read more here.