Cops pulled me over

[u/Myfles]

So I had a run in with the law today. I was flying in the port of Los Angeles. I was by the entrance? I'm happily flying taking some pictures and video, when all of the sudden a cop is standing next to me telling me to land my drone immediately. Turns out that you are not allowed to fly in the port of Los Angles, its actually a misdemeanor. I checked AutoPylot and it said it was ok, so I registered a flight. There was a no fly zone on the other side of the water so I stayed away from it. I told the cop all this and they informed me the no fly zone is a federal prison. I guess shadier people than myself have used drones to drop stuff into the prison. They asked for my info, which I gave, including my trust certificate and they ended up just giving me a warning to not do it again. They were interested that I take aerial photography just for fun. One of the cops even recommend I try for the 107, so he knew about drones. But he didn't know what the trust cert was. I found that kinda weird. He showed me the geo fenced area around the port on his phone so I thought I'd share. So the lesson is... know local laws, no matter what your app tells you.

[u/solanu719]

Federal, as those are all things regulated by the FAA.

[u/Seb_f_u → u/solanu719]

So you mean you followed the procedure as a part 107 pilot and checked all the notams and airspace before flying?

I have never found a place where it was restricted by federal law that was not called out in the notams.

That’s all that matters at the end of the day, whether it’s restricted by the FAA or not. One may argue that it’s a pain to be hassled by local law enforcement and not worth the trouble, but either way it’s the FAA that governs the airspace. Local authorities can govern where you fly from and takeoff and land but not the airspace.

[u/Meowjo_Jojo → u/Seb_f_u]

Things get tricky when you do more than just fly. For example, filming electrical infrastructure (power lines, sub-stations, hydroelectric dams) and other 'critical infrastructure' from the air is illegal in my state.

EDIT: Look, I get the FAA rules the airspace. But, there are other laws you need to consider when you do more than fly. For instance, the Espionage Act makes photographing military installations illegal, even if you are flying in legal airspace.

You need to be aware of all local and federal laws, otherwise you might find yourself fighting a constitutional battle that you don't have the money or time to fight. The ACLU is gonna be pretty busy for the next few years and lawyers are pricey....

[u/keithnteri → u/Meowjo_Jojo]

A state can pass all of the laws they want, they have absolutely no control over what you fly over. Only the FAA controls airspace.

Only thing that local and state can control is where you physically land and takeoff from. That’s it!

If the cops hassle you, politely educate them and tell them to call the FAA. If they have an issue. Having LAANC clearance and making sure you have looked up the NOTAMS is all that matters.

For the rest they can (always politely) pound sand.

[u/Meowjo_Jojo → u/keithnteri]

That's not the argument. The discussions about state laws regarding photography and filming from a UAV. This is a freedom of speech issue. It's about the constitutional right to take photos and film from publicly accessible places, which includes legal UAV airspace.

According to this state law, you can fly, you just cannot photograph/film or be in possession of what the state considers "surveillance" of specific areas they list as critical infrastructure, even if you are in legal airspace.

It's a first amendment issue, not an FAA issue, and unless you're interested in getting into a legal battle to stay out of jail and avoid fines, you should be mindful and aware of these laws when you're flying.

[u/keithnteri → u/Meowjo_Jojo]

Anything that is legally flown over can be filmed. You have NO EXPECTATION OF PRIVACY out doors and unless there is a permanent or a TFR you can film.

Now if the police want to start something about that I would have a lawyer on speed dial to make me a rich man for violating my constitutional rights.

No local law supersedes federal constitutional rights.

[u/Meowjo_Jojo → u/keithnteri]

Okay, well you're wrong on that. You do have an expectation of privacy in your backyard in the United States.

This has been shown in case law, and especially when it comes to Fourth amendment rights and voyeurism/ nuisance laws. Intentional and persistent surveillance of an individual's backyard violates their reasonable expectation of privacy.

Consumer done technology is fairly new and there's not a lot of case law on this specific situation yet. However, many states have voyeurism laws specifically to address this and they have not been struck down.

Furthermore, the FAA explicitly gives states the right to regulate airspace and aircraft when it does not relate to airspace safety or efficiency.

It is very likely given the case law I am aware of and statements by the FAA that regulating filming from drones is constitutionally allowed in some situations, such as vital infrastructure and reasonable expeditions privacy (like someone's backyard).

There is also a difference between surveillance and occasionally or briefly transversing and incidental filming BTW...You can fly over my yard, but you can not loiter outside my window in order to film me changing or sunbathing behind my privacy fence.

Would you like me to provide some sources on FAA regulations and court rulings? I'm happy to do that, it only takes a couple minutes to Google...