Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Preserving Freedom from Unwarranted Surveillance Act of 2013”.
Preserving Freedom from Unwarranted Surveillance Act of 2013
A BILL
To protect individual privacy against unwarranted governmental intrusion through the use of the unmanned aerial vehicles commonly called drones, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Prohibited use of drones
Except as provided in section 3, a person or entity acting under the authority of the United States shall not use a drone to gather evidence or other information pertaining to criminal conduct or conduct in violation of a regulation except to the extent authorized in a warrant issued under the procedures described in the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure.
Sec. 3 Exceptions
This Act does not prohibit any of the following:
Patrol of borders— The use of a drone to patrol national borders to prevent or deter illegal entry of any immigrants or illegal substances.
Exigent circumstances— The use of a drone by a law enforcement party when exigent circumstances exist. For the purposes of this paragraph, exigent circumstances exist when the law enforcement party possesses reasonable suspicion that under particular circumstances, swift action to prevent imminent danger to life or serious damage to property, or to forestall the imminent escape of a suspect, or destruction of evidence.
High risk— The use of a drone to counter a high risk of a terrorist attack by a specific individual or organization, when the Secretary of Homeland Security determines credible intelligence indicates there is such a risk.
Sec. 4 Remedies for violation
Any aggrieved party may in a civil action obtain all appropriate relief to prevent or remedy a violation of this Act.
Sec. 5 Definitions
In this Act:
The term drone means any powered, aerial vehicle that does not carry a human operator, uses aerodynamic forces to provide vehicle lift, can fly autonomously or be piloted remotely, can be expendable or recoverable, and can carry a lethal or nonlethal payload.
The term law enforcement party means a person or entity authorized by law to investigate or prosecute offenses against the United States.