Drones and Unmanned Aerial Systems

This book tackles the regulatory issues of Unmanned Aerial systems (UAS) or Remotely-Piloted Aerial Systems (RPAS), commonly called "drones" that have profound consequences for privacy, security and other fundamental liberties. Drones were initially deployed for military purposes, e.g. reconnaissance, surveillance and extra-judicial executions. Today, we are witnessing a growth of their use into the civilian and humanitarian domain. They are increasingly used for goals as diverse as news-gathering, aerial inspection of oil refinery flare stacks, mapping of the Amazonian rain-forest, crop spraying and search and rescue operations. The civil use of drones is becoming a reality in the European Union and in the US. The drone revolution may be a new technological revolution. Proliferation of the next generation of "recreational" drones show how drones will be sold as any other consumer item. The cultural perception of the technology is shifting, as drones are increasingly being used for humanitarian activities, on one hand, but they can also firmly be situated in the prevailing modes of postmodern governance on the other hand. This book centers primarily on questions related to regulation of surveillance and security on national and international level, providing a criminological background for understanding the legal concerns in the field of privacy and personal data protection law, criminal law and police law, international public and aviation law.