Surveillance State

[vta]

FBI director: Bureau uses drones for surveillance on US soil

FBI Director Robert Mueller acknowledged Wednesday that the bureau has a limited number of drones that it uses for surveillance on U.S. soil.

The practice, however limited, could raise further concern about government snooping amid the ongoing controversy over the administration's phone- and Internet-tracking programs.

Mueller addressed the matter during a Senate hearing on Capitol Hill, under questioning from Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa.

Asked if the FBI has drones, Mueller said, "Yes, and for surveillance."

He later said they are deployed on U.S. soil, but clarified they are used in a "very, very minimal way and very seldom."

The administration already has stated outright that it cannot use lethal drone strikes against a non-combatant American on U.S. soil, amid questions about the extent of the once-secretive drone program used in counterterrorism operations overseas. President Obama also said in a speech last month that armed drones should never be deployed over U.S. soil.

But the use of non-lethal drones for surveillance purposes is rapidly getting off the ground, so to speak, among local law enforcement agencies and other groups.

Mueller, in acknowledging that the FBI, too, has obtained surveillance drones, said the bureau is in the "initial stages" of drafting rules and regulations for their use.

"I will tell you that our footprint is very small. We have very few and have limited use, and we're exploring not only the use but also the necessary guidelines for that use," he said.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., later pressed him to provide more details, noting that drones operate under "very few regulations" despite the "booming industry of commercial drones."

"I would like to get that information," she said of privacy restrictions. "I think it would be helpful to us legislatively."

An FBI spokesman later explained that under current policy the FBI first must obtain the approval of the FAA to use the drones, and only in a "very confined geographic area."

Further, the spokesman said they are "only utilized to conduct surveillance operations on stationary subjects."

 

[resinryder]

It's ok. Go back to playing your video game, watching hbo, texting, and keeping up with how Kimmy Kardashian is going to exploit her new baby for money. Most of the citizens will forget it by Friday the other 3/4th just don't know or give a twitters shit!
Would love to see all those who have violated our Constitution brought up on charges of treason. Oh wait, that's all of congress, the presidents, the lettered agencies, leo, etc. Add it all up and we are screwed.

 

[lost in a sea]

is there actually a way of sorting the whole us mess out without uprising going to DC and rearranging the priorities of the country back to what you could also argue it designed to be?,, i don't think so anyway, DC, chicago and NY mainly anyway and various private corporate compounds within..

seems that people are so worried about losing their 2nd amendment rights they are forgetting even more about the important ones that are under attack more than ever like the 1st and 4th...

i think now the world needs america to sorts its head out and then save the whole world with kindness this time and not guns and force and pain,, everyone knows it's a prison, globally i mean, not a place of "freedom" or "peace"

but don't get me wrong i know it's a fooking tall order, and all easy to say..

 

[AKDrifter]

Yes, this is extremely surprising that any agency uses the latest technology available for surveillance. Crazy.
If you think any of this is new, the misinformation is working well. Look at the history of UAV's and how much exposure they have recieved lately. This is a BUZZ in the mainstream media right now and everyone is running around screaming about it. Think back as long as you have seen RC planes, and wireless recording, decades this is nothing new. If 20 years ago you could go to a hobby shop and buy a flying 4' long airplane for a few hundred dollars, what was going on covertly with that technology in the hands of agancies with limitless resources.

So now, just now, in 2013 the fed agencies have decided this is a good tool for intel gathering. My guess is there are many grandparents collecting retirement checks that worked on these projects when they were young bucks. Non disclosure agreements and threats of treas o n go a long way.