FBI Admits To Domestic Surveillance Drone Use 207
An anonymous reader writes "At a hearing today before the Senate Judiciary Committee, FBI director Robert Mueller confirmed the agency is using unmanned drones for surveillance within the U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley asked, 'Does the FBI own or currently use drones and for what purpose?' Mueller replied, 'Yes, for surveillance.' Grassley then asked, 'Does the FBI use drones for surveillance on U.S. soil?' Mueller said, 'Yes, in a very, very minimal way, and seldom.' With regard to restricting the use of drones to protect citizens' privacy, Mueller said, 'It is still in nascent stages but it is worthy of debate and legislation down the road.' According to article, 'Dianne Feinstein, who is also chair of the Senate intelligence committee, said the issue of drones worried her far more than telephone and internet surveillance, which she believes are subject to sufficient legal oversight.'"
Re:A drone is just a light aircraft with a camera (Score:3, Informative)
And you still can't mount a Griffin (AGM-176) on a light surveillance drone.
The vast majority of drones owned by the Feds, law enforcement and military are sub-20 pound things like what Seattle PD tried.
Seattle PD used 3.5-pound Draganflyer X6 six-rotor helicopters