from CBC
When hobbyists send their tiny, camera-mounted drones up to capture pictures of a beautiful sunset, the results can be stunning.
But when unmanned aerial vehicles — which have been rapidly growing in popularity across Canada — are spotted hovering outside condo windows or over backyards, the resulting unease is understandable. But is the peeping drone illegal?
Commercial use of drones falls under Transport Canada regulations and requires a Special Flight Operations Certificate.
But recreational users of UAVs weighing less than 35 kilograms — considered “model aircraft” in government terms — don’t need permission from the federal department to send their remote-controlled devices up in the air.
“Right now in Canada we don’t have any laws that regulate recreational drones, especially in terms of privacy,” says Ciara Bracken-Roche, a PhD candidate at Queen’s University, Kingston, Ont., and member of its Surveillance Studies Centre.
But at the same time, she says, “If you’re inside your 10th-floor condo and a drone flies outside your window and takes pictures into your private dwelling, your reasonable expectation of privacy is totally violated.”
In Canada, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms says “you have the right to be secure against unreasonable search and seizure,” Bracken-Roche says, noting that legal rulings around a “reasonable expectation of privacy” come up quite a bit.
The key issue, though, is what recourse you have if you’re uncomfortable with a drone hovering near your property.
Alan is serial entrepreneur, active angel investor, and a drone enthusiast. He co-founded DRONELIFE.com to address the emerging commercial market for drones and drone technology. Prior to DRONELIFE.com, Alan co-founded Where.com, ThinkingScreen Media, and Nurse.com. Recently, Alan has co-founded Crowditz.com, a leader in Equity Crowdfunding Data, Analytics, and Insights. Alan can be reached at alan(at)dronelife.com
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