Feinstein worried armed drones coming to US, legal or not

Politics,Beltway Confidential,Joel Gehrke

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., explained that her experience on the Senate Intelligence Committee makes her wary of drones being used in the United States, even raising the possibility that armed drones could take to the skies without government permission.

“I know what drones can do,” Feinstein said today during a Senate Judiciary Hearing. “I think, you know, we have to look to what purposes can drones be legitimately used. How do you monitor their use?  How do you certify the equipment, because all kinds of things can be added? It may not be legal to carry any munitions on a drone, but what can be done illegally and how can the government prevent that from happening? At what altitude can they fly? What kind of recognition, facial recognition, are they capable of at various activities?”

The lawmakers discussed, among other things, laws limiting the use of drones. “I think it’s important for all technology and privacy legislation to try to be as technology-neutral as possible,” the Electronic Privacy Information Center’s Amie Stepanovich said during the hearing, arguing that such legislation must be effective even as drone technology advances.




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