Despite government assurances that drone surveillance over US territory for non-military missions are safe, legal and rare, there has been a rapid rise in how many federal, state and local agencies own, or have access to, fleets of drones. The number of drones is expected to grow from about 2,000 now to more than 10,000 by the end of this year, according to industry estimates.
Despite government assurances that drone surveillance over US territory for non-military missions are safe, legal and rare, there has been a rapid rise in how many federal, state and local agencies own, or have access to, fleets of drones. However, with little oversight or transparency, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) are calling for more public discussion and policy change to address the rise of domestic drone surveillance.