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If they're not photographing the inside of your house, they're well within their rights. There's no expectation of privacy for the outside of your house.

And I suspect you're missing the point - there's a difference between asking a drone operator to stop flying over your yard or taking pictures, and simply shooting it down. I was trying to illustrate that if a person was in your yard showing no hostile intent, and you didn't want them there, you would more likely ask them to leave than to shoot them.



Peeping into your house, yes. Looking at you outside your home - where I assume you would probably be if you were going to shoot at the drone - is perfectly okay. If you don't want someone to look at you, go back inside.



None of the spaces you listed are your property.



Which you don't have if you're standing outside in full view.



Fine. Fire away. And best of luck to you in court.



Again, it's not voyeurism if you're outside in full view. There's no expectation of privacy.

You keep moving the goal posts. Outside in full view is not the same as being in an enclosed back yard where you do have some reasonable expectations of privacy. That’s not the same thing as standing out in my front yard where I am viewable by any passer by.

What you are suggesting would be more akin to someone putting a ladder up on my back fence and peering over it. Or entering my back yard and setting up a ladder to look into my windows, which are not publicly viewable.

The expectation of privacy is not there if you are in a publicly viewable area such as your front yard where people passing buy can see you or if you are at a park, mall, etc. But there is an expectation of privacy in an enclosed back yard.

If a person did something like that, you could demand they stop and/or call the police if they don’t. But drones are anonymous and it difficult to tell where they came from, who is operating them and what they may be recording or transmitting.

You also missed the point that there is no way for a drone to fly into my back yard without flying over public streets, public trails and city property including open space, which is illegal here. Just the act of it being in my back yard violates laws because of how it would have to travel.

Also, if it is buzzing around your back yard, stressing your pets, kids, etc. falls under that annoyance/harassment bit.

While the law seems to be a gray area on shooting them down *note I said bring them down, not shoot, as their are some other alternatives than a gun to try, flying a drone below the navigability threshold into an enclosed back yard, could likely land you in court for criminal trespass in my area.
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Nor peace and quiet, apparently. I would expect some laws to be tightened up a little more going forward. It might take awhile. And it might take the hapless drone owner having the bad luck to harass the wrong Very Important Locally Elected Official.

Laws in some places already have. Our area " Prohibits drones from flying over city property, including public streets, trails, parks, open spaces and public buildings."

Telluride Colorado laws state "Town ordinance requires drone users to be approved by the town or private property owners before flying over respective spaces. The regulations also prohibit endangering wildlife and people, and operating a drone in a reckless manner. Additionally, drones cannot be flown near people or wildlife not directly involved in the operation. Operators cannot fly a drone if under the influence of alcohol, marijuana or a controlled substance; operators also cannot have preexisting mental or physical conditions that would interfere with safe flying.

Boulder says that drones cannot be flown over crowds of people or sporting events.

That is just the Colorado laws I am aware of.
 
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It was off and on, not constant. :p It had been flying around the whole morning on and off - it disappeared closer to lunch when the cops were called and they started looking around the neighborhood to see who it was.

It didn't stay in one place for more than 5-10 mins then it would disappear for little bit.
My drone's battery lasts maybe 7 minutes if that. In looking up the question, I found this...

An average drone will only fly for around 10 minutes. High end drones can last much longer, often 20 minutes or more. As with most things, the price you pay greatly impacts how long your drone will last.
 
My drone's battery lasts maybe 7 minutes if that. In looking up the question, I found this...

An average drone will only fly for around 10 minutes. High end drones can last much longer, often 20 minutes or more. As with most things, the price you pay greatly impacts how long your drone will last.

How interesting - I didn't know this. Explains why it popped up for only a little bit, left, then came back shortly later. Must have had one hell of a rapid charger, or extra battery spares laying around?

Thanks for the info!
 
I really don't get it.
Don't know what cities you're referring to, but I suspect shooting any drone down would fall under the "NO discharge of firearms anywhere except approved ranges.
 
.....

Last year, I was relaxing outside enjoying a read on my iPad on a nice day that I decided to take off from work (I don't get many of these)... and ... this buzzing sound kept getting louder and louder, and ... before I know it, I had a drone buzzing (very loudly) in the treetops pointing its camera at me.

When I made eye contact with the drone, it attempted to fly away but was back within a few minutes - pointing its camera directly at me.

So I went to my front yard and looked for anyone with a drone controller. Couldn't find anyone but I did see a few neighbors visibly upset by this drone that had been harassing them as well.

I did my best to ignore the drone but it is REALLY really really annoying to have a loud buzzing drone pointing its camera at you in your backyard when you expect privacy. I could see how someone would get really pissed off about that.

An hour later cops were called and the drone disappeared but not before bothering me specifically for an hour+.

Excellent post.

Or when you’ve taken the time and trouble to go find a nice quiet spot to do some landscape photography, and some twit decides to fly their drone.
Should be banned.

Agree completely.

I know the non sequitur was followed by a /sarcasm flag. But if a drone is on my property with the intent of invading my personal space and privacy that is a far cry from children, cats, people who park in front of my house, etc.

Again, agree completely.

If the drone is on (or over) private property - and has not been invited to be there - it is an invasion of personal and private space.

That is not the same as being parked outside your house on the kerb of a footpath (sidewalk for Our Transatlantic Cousins).

Unless the drone is otherwise doing something illegal or invasive - no, it really isn't.

A person standing in your front yard looking at you isn't breaking any laws, and neither is a drone.

Unless they have been invited into my front yard, yes, it is breach of my property and privacy rights.

Again, the footpath, road, sidewalk are not my front garden, or yard, as this is the public space.

If they're not photographing the inside of your house, they're well within their rights. There's no expectation of privacy for the outside of your house.

And I suspect you're missing the point - there's a difference between asking a drone operator to stop flying over your yard or taking pictures, and simply shooting it down. I was trying to illustrate that if a person was in your yard showing no hostile intent, and you didn't want them there, you would more likely ask them to leave than to shoot them.



Peeping into your house, yes. Looking at you outside your home - where I assume you would probably be if you were going to shoot at the drone - is perfectly okay. If you don't want someone to look at you, go back inside.



None of the spaces you listed are your property.



Which you don't have if you're standing outside in full view.



Fine. Fire away. And best of luck to you in court.



Again, it's not voyeurism if you're outside in full view. There's no expectation of privacy.

In my back garden, yes, there is an expectation of privacy.

And in my house; others on this forum (women) have posted about how drones were hovering outside windows, busily focussed on them while they were strolling around in a state of undress in their living room; frankly, in my house, I have a very strong expectation of privacy.

And, in my front garden, even if visible, I expect courtesy and respect; drones hovering over me in a front garden - even if visible from the road - do not accord me that.

Personally, I would like to see them banned until appropriate regulation governing the conditions of their use can be enacted.
 
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Excellent post.



Agree completely.



Again, agree completely.

If the drone is on (or over) private property - and has not been invited to be there - it is an invasion of personal and private space.

That is not the same as being parked outside your house on the kerb of a footpath (sidewalk for Our Transatlantic Cousins).



Unless they have been invited into my front yard, yes, it is breach of my property and privacy rights.

Again, the footpath, road, sidewalk are not my front garden, or yard, as this is the public space.



In my back garden, yes, there is an expectation of privacy.

And in my house; others on this from (women) have posted about how drones were hovering outside windows, busily focussed on them while they were strolling around in a state of undress in their living room; frankly, in my house, I have a very strong expectation of privacy.

And, in my front garden, even if visible, I expect courtesy and respect; drones hovering over me in a front garden - even if visible from the road - do not accord me that.

Personally, I would like to see them banned until appropriate regulation governing the conditions of their use can be enacted.
100%. Ban all drones. They are just an annoyance.
 
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100%. Ban all drones. They are just an annoyance.

There are some legitimate uses for them and some legitimate places to use them. But they do need to be better regulated. They are already banned by the National Park Service for use in National Parks because it is said that they disrupt people, wildlife and birds.

Colorado has also banned the use of drones in State Parks for the same reason.

They definitely do need to address some privacy concerns with the use of drones in residential areas. They are useful tools in law enforcement, firefighting, and other emergency operations, but as one of the local sheriffs put it "I don’t get to fly that thing without a search warrant." I think that should tell you all you need to know about whether or not they should be able to fly into the privacy of someone's back yard or peer through windows. Currently, private citizens are doing something that our local police are not permitted to do without a warrant.
 
There are some legitimate uses for them and some legitimate places to use them. But they do need to be better regulated. They are already banned by the National Park Service for use in National Parks because it is said that they disrupt people, wildlife and birds.

Colorado has also banned the use of drones in State Parks for the same reason.

They definitely do need to address some privacy concerns with the use of drones in residential areas. They are useful tools in law enforcement, firefighting, and other emergency operations, but as one of the local sheriffs put it "I don’t get to fly that thing without a search warrant." I think that should tell you all you need to know about whether or not they should be able to fly into the privacy of someone's back yard or peer through windows. Currently, private citizens are doing something that our local police are not permitted to do without a warrant.

An excellent, balanced, and very well argued post. Well said.

And I completely agree with you.
 
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I kinda like this fellas gizmo...
It's silent so the drone operator probably wouldn't even know what happened.:D
Drone slingshot:
https://www.wideopenspaces.com/first-look-anti-drone-slingshot-shotgun/

Screen-Shot-2015-12-22-at-10.11.45-PM-630x339.png
 
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I am glad people are sharing ways to take them down :) I hate drones as much as everyone else.
 
I actually really like them when used responsibly. We had a video done by a guy who wanted to film a motorcycle ride through one of the canyons here in Colorado and it was really cool and well done.

Alternately, flying them into other peoples space and invading their privacy is not a good use.

I don't hate the game, just some of the players :)
 
I actually really like them when used responsibly. We had a video done by a guy who wanted to film a motorcycle ride through one of the canyons here in Colorado and it was really cool and well done.

Alternately, flying them into other peoples space and invading their privacy is not a good use.

I don't hate the game, just some of the players :)

In fairness, another fair-minded and balanced post.

The (positive) example of the use of drones that you have posted is an excellent one, and is one that I would have no quarrel with.

However, it is the unapologetic arrogance and bottomless sense of entitlement of some who use them - the witless (and offensive) bleats of "there is no expectation of privacy" when you are on, or in, your own property and personal and private space, and the noise and nuisance that ensure that some of us are quite antagonistic to their use in the public space until reasonable regulation and proper oversight measures are put in place.
 
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News reports yesterday:

Police drone finds elderly woman with dementia who was trapped in brush.

Police drone finds hiker in Clear Creek Canyon who had fallen some 30 ft. and could not move.

When I see stories like this involving privately owned drones, then maybe I'll soften my position on them.
 
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News reports yesterday:

Police drone finds elderly woman with dementia who was trapped in brush.

Police drone finds hiker in Clear Creek Canyon who had fallen some 30 ft. and could not move.

When I see stories like this involving privately owned drones, then maybe I'll soften my position on them.

I did see one story where a guy who was looking for his crashed drone, discovered some human remains, but that’s not really the same thing.

Mostly it is headlines such as:

Drone crash in Oregon starts wildfire

Drone crash in Arizona National Forest starts wildfire

Firefighters in Colorado had to ground their aircraft for an hour due to commercial drone activity in the area

Drone suspected of causing helicopter crash in South Carolina

fa17b72ecc553c99e0612f542c885d29.jpg


Edit: That Clear Creek incident was a recent one. Good use and a lucky find.

https://www.denverpost.com/2019/04/05/clear-creek-canyon-hiker-rescue/
 
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You best be careful, they do eventually get revenge :)

Cats can usually be bribed by people to get over their fits of feline pique even if their anger was righteous. It just takes a lot of nice ground beef or similar luxury fare.

I don't think we can bribe raptors to get over drones though; those birds will always view a drone as "the enemy." Airline pilots certainly look at rogue drones that way also, and so should anyone planning on using air transportation.

What on earth is wrong with people so bent on misusing every new technology that comes along so that the rest of us --the majority-- have trouble struggling to be able to "have nice things" or at least get to experience the useful aspects of those technologies?!

Lasers, now drones... their misuse ends up as essentially vandalism, and bottom line it doesn't matter to me whether done with malice or just for the merry hell of it and so out of a lack of self discipline. It's the same as a bunch of idiots running doughnut tracks into a farm field with their rat cars "because they figure they can".... but misuse of lasers and drones offer far worse potential consequence if interference with regular air traffic is on the menu.
 
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Cats can usually be bribed by people to get over their fits of feline pique even if their anger was righteous. It just takes a lot of nice ground beef or similar luxury fare.

I don't think we can bribe raptors to get over drones though; those birds will always view a drone as "the enemy." Airline pilots certainly look at rogue drones that way also, and so should anyone planning on using air transportation.

What on earth is wrong with people so bent on misusing every new technology that comes along so that the rest of us --the majority-- have trouble struggling to be able to "have nice things" or at least get to experience the useful aspects of those technologies?!

Lasers, now drones... their misuse ends up as essentially vandalism, and bottom line it doesn't matter to me whether done with malice or just for the merry hell of it and so out of a lack of self discipline. It's the same as a bunch of idiots running doughnut tracks into a farm field with their rat cars "because they figure they can".... but misuse of lasers and drones offer far worse potential consequence if interference with regular air traffic is on the menu.

Agreed.

Among some drone users there is an arrogant entitlement, a monstrous disregard ("there is no expectation of privacy in your yard") in how they express their right to the use of this technology.
 
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