CA Gov. Approves Limits on Paparazzi Drones

CA Governor Jerry Brown expanded privacy protections on Tuesday, passing a law that prevents paparazzi from flying camera drones over private property.

The new law  AB-856, states:

A person is liable for physical invasion of privacy when the person knowingly enters onto the land or into the airspace above the land of another person without permission or otherwise commits a trespass in order to capture any type of visual image, sound recording, or other physical impression of the plaintiff engaging in a private, personal, or familial activity and the invasion occurs in a manner that is offensive to a reasonable person.

Assemblyman Ian Calderon, the author of the bill, says that the need for clarification of the law was made clear at the Joint Oversight Hearing of the Assembly Committees on Arts, Entertainment, Sports, Tourism and Internet Media held last August. “At that hearing we learned that the paparazzi have used drones for years to invade the privacy and capture pictures of public persons in their most private of activities – despite existing law,” states Calderon. 

The CA governor has previously been reluctant to pass laws specifically limiting or criminalizing drone use, citing an already overcomplicated legal system as his primary reason.  Gov. Brown vetoed a similar but more comprehensive bill last month that would have made flying a drone above private property a trespassing offense, stating in his veto statement that the law “could expose the occasional hobbyist and the FAA-approved commercial user alike to burdensome litigation and new causes of action.”  Last week, the governor vetoed 3 proposed laws against drones that would have made it illegal to fly over wildfires, schools, and prisons.