Secrecy News (May 8) - "USAF Drones May Conduct 'Incidental' Domestic Surveillance" by @saftergood http://twitter.com/saftergood http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/2012/05/usaf_drones.html* * U.S. Air Force policy permits the incidental collection of domestic imagery by unmanned aerial systems (drones), but ordinarily would not allow targeted surveillance of a U.S. person. The Air Force policy was restated in a newly reissued instruction on oversight of Air Force intelligence. "Air Force Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) operations, exercise and training missions will not conduct nonconsensual surveillance on specifically identified US persons, unless expressly approved by the Secretary of Defense, consistent with US law and regulations," the instruction http://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/usaf/afi14-104.pdf stated. On the other hand, "Collected imagery may incidentally include US persons or private property without consent." "Collecting information on specific targets inside the US raises policy and legal concerns that require careful consideration, analysis and coordination with legal counsel. Therefore, Air Force components should use domestic imagery only when there is a justifiable need to do so, and then only IAW [in accordance with] EO 12333, the National Security Act of 1947, as amended, DoD 5240.1-R, and this instruction," it said. Legally valid requirements for domestic imagery, the instruction http://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/usaf/afi14-104.pdf said, include surveillance of natural disasters, environmental studies, system testing and training, and also counterintelligence and security-related vulnerability assessments. Air Force units are authorized to acquire domestic commercial imagery for such validated purposes. However, "Air Force intelligence components must not conduct or give the appearance of conducting collection, exploitation or dissemination of commercial imagery or imagery associated products for other than approved mission purposes." See "Oversight of Intelligence Activities," http://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/usaf/afi14-104.pdf Air Force Instruction 14-104, April 23, 2012. Another new Air Force Instruction deals with the basic operation of Small Unmanned Aerial Systems in domestic and foreign environments. Among other things, it recommends caution in the use of non-uniformed personnel in conducting drone combat missions. "To ensure the noncombatant status of civilians and contractors is not jeopardized, commanders shall consult with their servicing judge advocate office for guidance before using civilian or contractor personnel in combat operations or other missions involving direct participation in hostilities," the instruction advised. See "Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Operations," http://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/usaf/afi11-502v3.pdf Air Force Instruction 11-502, volume 3, April 26, 2012. In its new mark of the FY2013 defense authorization bill http://armedservices.house.gov/index.cfm/files/serve?File_id=e7c34102-53e4-4..., the House Armed Services Committee is proposing to provide the Air Force with even more money than it requested for its Predator and Reaper drone programs. See "Congress Funds Killer Drones the Air Force Says It Can't Handle" http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/05/congress-armed-drones/ by Spencer Ackerman, Wired Danger Room, May 7, 2012. gf -- Gregory Foster || gfoster@entersection.org @gregoryfoster<> http://entersection.com/ _______________________________________________ drone-list mailing list drone-list@lists.stanford.edu Should you need to change your subscription options, please go to: https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/drone-list If you would like to receive a daily digest, click "yes" (once you click above) next to "would you like to receive list mail batched in a daily digest?" You will need the user name and password you receive from the list moderator in monthly reminders. Should you need immediate assistance, please contact the list moderator. ----- End forwarded message ----- -- Eugen* Leitl <a href="http://leitl.org">leitl</a> http://leitl.org ______________________________________________________________ ICBM: 48.07100, 11.36820 http://www.ativel.com http://postbiota.org 8B29F6BE: 099D 78BA 2FD3 B014 B08A 7779 75B0 2443 8B29 F6BE