The Govt Is Spying on America with Drones, Too
In an alarming but hardly shocking admission, FBI Director Robert Mueller confirmed that drones have been used to conduct surveillance in the US, though he was quick to reassure citizens that it was ’very seldom’. He did not disclose the particulars of the surveillance to the Senate hearing being held on Wednesday (June 19, 2013), but went on to characterize the incidents as nothing to really worry about.
The Wall Street Journal reports:
Asked about drones at a Senate hearing, FBI director Robert Mueller said the agency uses them “in a very, very minimal way, very seldom.”
Federal agencies have been using drones for years to monitor the northern and southern borders of the U.S., and those drones have occasionally been deployed to help domestic law-enforcement agencies like the FBI.
The use of such drones is politically charged and civil-rights advocates say there are no clear privacy rules governing their use.
These revelations come on the heels of the outing by whistleblower Edward Snowden of the massive systemic spying and surveillance program by the US government and the NSA. These programs and techniques reportedly encompass a global range, with governments spying on governments, and surveilling everyone in between.
If the existence and abuse of such programs wasn’t disturbing enough, there’s evidence that, despite the backlash, this type of paranoia, control, and oppresson won’t be stopping anytime soon.
READ: US has no plans to end surveillance
Mueller continued at the hearing regarding drone surveillance:
“It’s very seldom used and generally used in a particular incident when you need the capability,’’ said Mr. Mueller, who said he wasn’t sure what becomes of the images recorded by such drones. “It is very narrowly focused on particularized cases and particularized needs.’’
He added: “There are a number of issues related to drones that are going to have to be debated.” One area that needs to be explored, he said, was how long-established guidelines on helicopter surveillance should be adopted or altered to cover unmanned drone surveillance. “It’s worthy of debate and perhaps legislation down the road,’’ said Mr. Mueller.
No details, no legislation, and no oversight.
Does that answer your questions?
By Elizabeth Leafloor, Red Ice Creations
