EPIC, and a coalition of privacy and civil liberties groups urged the leadership of the Senate Committees on Homeland Security & Government Affairs and Judiciary to push back against the broad authorities and address lack of protections in the government’s counter-drone proposal. The proposal would expand the authority of DHS and DOJ to counter drones that the agencies deem a threat. Under the expanded authority, DOJ and DHS could track, monitor, and disrupt drones, including by intercepting the drone’s communications or accessing the data stored on the drone–all without a judicial order.
The current authority of DOJ and DHS to counter drones, granted by the Preventing Emerging Threats Act of 2018, is set to sunset later this year. The Act was opposed by many privacy and civil liberties groups. In a 2018 letter to Congress, EPIC argued Congress should table any consideration of granting government agencies authority to counter drones until drone privacy safeguards had been established.