US Air Force Can 'Accidentally' Spy On American Citizens For 90 Days

AstroPhilosopher writes "Researchers at the Federation of American Scientists have discovered documentation (PDF) that allows the military to keep footage from drones for up to 90 days to determine whether further investigation is warranted. Besides using footage from natural disasters and monitoring of domestic military bases, all that's truly required is for an operator to 'accidentally' have the camera running while flying."

Comments

President McCain strikes again

[Kohath]

They told me this would happen if I voted for John McCain for President. And they were right!

Re:President McCain strikes again

[Quiet_Desperation]

Would be a bad time to be a furry.

There's a good time?

Well If They Want To Watch...

[jimmerz28]

I guess I need to start having (gay) sex on my deck again.

Re:Well If They Want To Watch...

[Remus Shepherd]

True story: I knew a guy who was married to his horse. Not legally, of course, but there was a ceremony and everything. He had a twelve-foot-high privacy fence around his backyard so that nobody would complain about his and his bride's consummations. Which, in Missouri in the 1980s, were perfectly legal.

Except they lived near an Air Force base...and every so often a helicopter would fly low overhead, then stop right over his property. The pilot would watch for a while before flying off. There was nothing my friend could do about it (and nothing the Air Force could do to stop him, short of a missile strike), so he resigned himself to giving a free show two or three times a week.

Curiosity is in our species' nature. If our government is given the ability to invade our privacy then they will use it, if only out of curiosity.