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In June 2013, The Ohio Attorney General’s office flipped the switch on a new facial recognition program that allows the government to compare anonymous snapshots to the state’s existing database of license photos and mug shots in order to look for a match.

There are also some frightening things in the works – particularly the advances in autonomous flight. The Global Hawk, for example, is a surveillance drone that is designed to take off, fly a mission, and land without a pilot. Attack drones, like the Predator and Reaper, are anticipated to fly without human control after 2020.

Currently, there are some challenges and limitations to fully integrating drones into the national airspace. All aircraft flying outside of restricted space are required to “see and avoid” other aircraft. Drones don’t have the ability to see and avoid, so the FAA requires a second operator who can watch while the pilot flies it. Drones can only fly out of sight of the second operator if they have special clearance and a specified flight pattern away from which the FAA can direct other flights (so planes don’t run into each other.) Because of these limitations, the FAA is allowing limited drone use by public and private sector.

The industry really tries to differentiate between military use “in theater” (in a battle) and civil use. The military uses drones primarily for two purposes: intelligence gathering/surveillance (such as the Global Hawk) and targeted strikes (such as the Reaper, which is larger and more heavily armed than the Predator).

I’m deep undercover at the Ohio UAS Conference. My cover story? “I’m just a part-time social work professor with an interest in drones and other new technologies.”

My real story? As part of the ACLU of Ohio legislative team (and a self-identified tech geek) I want to learn more about this technology born for the battlefield and making its way into our backyards. While there seem to be potential benefits to drones, I am very concerned about individual privacy – especially since Ohio doesn’t have laws regulating use of drones.

Download a Employers and school officials demanding access to employee and student social networking profiles;
Warrantless cell phone location tracking.