Creeps Embrace a New Tool: Peeping Drones

By Michael B. Marois. It was the blinking lights outside the 10th-story window of her San Jose, California, condo that startled Elsvette Buenaventura from her bed last year. When she drew back the curtain, a small drone hovered a few feet away. In the days that followed, it returned at least three more times.

Such stories have prompted lawmakers in a half-dozen U.S. states to outlaw the use of drones to snoop on people’s homes. More states are set to follow.

“We don’t know what he was looking for with his camera-drone,” said Buenaventura, 32. “All we felt was a violation of our privacy.”

For less than $1,000, small, remotely operated aircraft are increasingly available on the Internet and at hobby stores, and some can be equipped with equally affordable high-definition cameras. At the same time, some of America’s biggest companies — names like Chevron Corp. and BNSF Railway Co. — are pushing to use drones for everything from pipeline inspection to land surveys. Their use has pushed lawmakers to weigh the rights of drone pilots against the potential for nefarious intrusions.

Camera-equipped drones have commercial uses — they can inspect crops, photograph real estate and survey land. As the government figures out how to regulate that activity, it has begun rapidly granting waivers from federal rules to drones-for-hire. Scores of companies have obtained permission to fly them. (Read more from “Creeps Embrace a New Tool: Peeping Drones” HERE)

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Airplane Pilots Reporting Increase in Drone Encounters in the Sky

By CBS Denver. The Federal Aviation Administration bans the commercial use of drones but the high-flying devices are so popular with hobbyists, they are becoming a threat to airplanes.

Reports obtained by CBS4 Investigator Rick Sallinger found nearly 200 FAA reports of drone interference with planes and helicopters. The reports come from across the country.

There are also highly publicized incursions, such as the drone landing on the White House lawn and one flying over an appearance by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

And YouTube is filled with videos of drones crashing into everything from power lines to smokestacks and skyscrapers.

Companies that sell drones in Colorado are now trying to prevent problems. Josh Gilson is a co-owner of “Multicopter Warehouse” in Castle Rock, a store that offers free classes for drone users. (Read more from this story HERE)

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