Texas Drone Restrictions Opposed By Journalists Once Again Upheld By US Appeals Court
A lower court had previously ruled in favor of a reporter and journalist groups that challenged the restrictions
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A United States appeals court refused to reverse a prior decision that upheld provisions in a Texas state law, which may be used to criminalize journalists who gather news by flying drones.
In 2019, the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA), Texas Press Association, and a freelance reporter named Joe Pappalardo sued Texas state officials and urged the U.S. District Court in the Western District of Texas in Austin to declare regulations on unmanned aerial vehicles unconstitutional.
The lawsuit [PDF] contended that “surveillance provisions” in Texas state law violate the First Amendment by imposing “criminal and civil penalties on speech and newsgathering activity.” Any person who uses a drone to capture or publish an image of an individual or privately-owned property may violate the law if they have an “intent to conduct surveillance.”
“No-fly provisions” in the law were also challenged. According to the complaint, these provisions “unconstitutionally impose criminal penalties on newsgathering activities by making it unlawful to fly [drones] over a broad range of facilities at less than 400 feet, including over sports arenas, correctional facilities, animal feedlots, oil and gas drilling sites and pipelines, and petroleum and alumina refineries.”
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Drones are expensive right? If the restrictions are unlawful, then the only resort to the spying is for prisons, correction facilities, and homeowners to shoot them down.