SB 92 by Sen. Negron, first bill voted out of committee in 2013, seeks to protect individuals’ privacy from unmanned surveillance vehicles
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
January 15, 2013
CONTACT:
ACLU of Florida Media Office, 786-363-2737, media@aclufl.org
Today, the Florida Senate Committee on Criminal Justice unanimously voted in favor of Senate Bill 92, authored by Senator Joe Negron (R – District 32). SB 92 seeks to put needed controls on law enforcement’s use of unmanned surveillance drones.
The following statement may be attributed to Howard Simon, Executive Director of the ACLU of Florida:
“We applaud Senator Negron for taking leadership on this critical issue, and the Senate Criminal Justice Committee for making this bill a priority for the first days of legislative committee meetings.
“This is the first piece of legislation voted out of committee this year, and the leadership we have seen on this issue could make our state the first in the nation to regulate the use of drones by local law enforcement.
“The ACLU has serious concerns about unregulated, warrantless use of unmanned aerial vehicle surveillance technology to collect information about individuals. The pace by which surveillance technology has evolved in recent years has so far outstripped the pace at which laws have adapted to protect individuals’ privacy.
“Strict controls are needed to help guide law enforcement in using surveillance technology. Without those limits, we risk inching further into a society under constant and permanent surveillance.
“Technology has pushed us into a new frontier in privacy, and the principles behind Senator Negron’s bill establish guideposts for how to keep Floridians both safe and free in this new era.”
# # #
