Overview

• Prohibits federal law enforcement agencies from using drones (unmanned aerial vehicles) to conduct surveillance on U.S. citizens or their private property
• Introduced January 3, 2025 by Rep. Biggs (Arizona)
• Creates new restrictions on government surveillance technology

Who does this affect?

• Main groups: U.S. citizens subject to potential federal law enforcement surveillance, federal agencies like FBI and DEA that use drones
• Who benefits: Americans gain stronger privacy protections from warrantless drone surveillance
• Who loses: Federal law enforcement loses ability to use drones without judicial oversight
• Teen impact score: 4/10 (affects privacy rights broadly but minimal direct teen interaction with federal surveillance drones)

What This Bill Does

• Bans federal law enforcement from intentionally surveilling, gathering evidence about, or photographically/electronically recording specifically targeted U.S. citizens or their private property using drones
• Creates terrorism exception: President (through DHS Secretary) can authorize drone use if Secretary certifies in writing under oath that surveillance is necessary to counter high risk of terrorist attack by specific individual/organization
• Requires search warrant signed by judge before federal law enforcement can use drones for surveillance
• Allows drone photography/recording only if agency obtains written consent from citizen AND purpose is publishing/publicly disseminating the material
• Applies only to federal law enforcement agencies (does not restrict state/local police or non-law enforcement federal agencies)

Legislative Status

• Status: Introduced in House on January 3, 2025
• Referred to House Committee on the Judiciary
• No further action yet

In short

• Federal law enforcement must get a warrant before using drones to spy on Americans
• Terrorism exception allows President to authorize drone surveillance with written certification from DHS Secretary
• Citizens can consent to being photographed by government drones if images will be made public
• Protects privacy by requiring judicial approval for most drone surveillance
• Only applies to federal agencies, not state or local police

Why should I care?

This bill addresses how government watches people using technology. Federal agencies increasingly use drones for investigations, but critics worry about privacy invasion without court oversight. The bill would require agencies to convince a judge there's good reason before flying drones to monitor someone. This matters because surveillance technology keeps advancing, and rules haven't always kept up. Whether you value security or privacy more, this bill forces a choice about how much government monitoring should require judicial approval before happening.