There’s a new bill passing through the Arkansas State Legislature that may be concerning to photographers who operate camera drones. The bill is titled, “Concerning The Use Of An Unmanned Vehicle Or Aircraft That Captures Images; To Create The Criminal Offenses; To Provide For Civil Liability,” and it criminalizes certain camera drone usage and the possession of photos captured during that usage.
The bill was written by Representative Justin Harris and was filed just yesterday. Based on the introductory wording of the bill, it seems that it attempts to make all camera drone usage unlawful. “A person commits the offense of unlawful use of an unmanned vehicle or aircraft to capture an image if the person knowingly uses or authorizes the use of an unmanned vehicle or aircraft to capture an image,” it reads.
Read a little further, and you’ll find that there are a number of “exceptions.” The photographer is off the hook if the drone was used: (1) with permission of the owner/occupant of the property in the photo, (2) with a legal warrant, (3) by law enforcement, (4) for fire and/or rescue operations, (5) without magnification from no more than 6 feet above ground, and (6) on public land.
The bill goes on to state that possessing and distributing photos that were captured by unlawful drone usage is also an offense, and that unlawful drone usage puts you at risk of civil lawsuits and $1,000 for each photo of a person or property photographed unlawfully.
You can read the 3-page bill for yourself through this embedded copy:
The bill is reminiscent of California’s controversial privacy laws that also put restrictions on camera drone usage. This Arkansas bill is an attempt to prevent the unlawful photography of private property and persons on that property, but the wording of the bill seems to risk preventing legitimate uses as well.
Image credits: Header image created with photo by Allen Brewer, aerial photo by Daniel Zimmermann
from PetaPixel http://ift.tt/1Ao2rvf
via IFTTT
0 comments:
Post a Comment