Unmanned aircraft systems: Surveillance, ethics and privacy in civil applications

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Abstract

This paper examines how the use of unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) for surveillance in civil applications impacts upon privacy and other civil liberties. It argues that, despite the heterogeneity of these systems, the same “usual suspects” – the poor, people of colour and anti-government protesters – are targeted by UAS deployments. It discusses how current privacy-related legislation in the US, UK and European Union might apply to UASs. We find that current regulatory mechanisms do not adequately address privacy and civil liberties concerns because UASs are complex, multimodal surveillance systems that integrate a range of technologies and capabilities. The paper argues for a combination of top-down, legislated requirements and bottom-up impact assessments to adequately address privacy and civil liberties.

Introduction

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) can generally be defined as a “device used or intended to be used for flight in the air that has no on-board pilot”.1 These devices are sometimes referred to as “drones”, which are programmed for autonomous flight, and remotely piloted vehicles (RPVs), which are flown remotely by a ground control operator.2 Current generations of UAVs “can be as small as an insect or as large as a charter flight”.3 They are often launched from a road or a small vehicle, and large enough to accommodate cameras, sensors or other information gathering equipment.4 Recently, discussions of UAVs have used the term unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) to reflect “the fact that in addition to the unmanned aircraft, a complete UAS includes multiple pieces of ancillary equipment, such as vehicle control equipment, communications systems, and potentially even launch and recovery platforms”.5 According to McBride, the versatility of these “systems” is one of the strongest drivers in the rapid development of these technologies, where “the identification of new potential uses leads to the adaptation of the systems”.6 One such use is the deployment of UASs with cameras or sensors in law enforcement applications, which has led the Surveillance Studies Network, in its testimony to the UK House of Lords, to assert that UAVs represent one of the technological forms that characterise “new surveillance”.7

Despite recent growth in the UAV/UAS market, UAVs have a relatively long history. The first unmanned aircraft was a torpedo developed in 1915 for the US Navy, which was designed to fly to a specific location and drive into its target.8 In the Second World War, they were used as radio-controlled targets and for reconnaissance missions.9 In the 1990s, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and NASA began research into further uses of UAVs, and a number of well-known UAVs such as the Helios, Proteus, Altus Pathfinder and Predator (which was first used by the US in the Gulf War) resulted from this effort.10 Drones were so effective in the Gulf War that “Iraqi troops began to associate the sound of the little aircraft’s two-cycle engine with an imminent devastating bombardment”, which led to “the first instance of human soldiers surrendering to a robot”.11 Growth in this area has recently increased exponentially, particularly because of developments in lightweight construction materials, microelectronics, signal processing equipment and GPS navigation.12 More than 50 nations currently use drones for military reconnaissance, intelligence-gathering and targeting13 and as of 2003 at least three dozen nations had active UAV development or application programmes.14 However, the civil market for UASs is the largest area of predicted sector growth in the next few years. For example, the UK Civil Aviation Authority has stated that model aircraft have been flying successfully for years “performing aerial work tasks, effectively operating as UAVs”.15 Furthermore, a worldwide survey of existing UASs in 2004 found that 79 per cent are aimed at civil research or dual-purpose operations and that this is likely to continue.16 This emerging civil market includes potential applications such as public security, law enforcement, border patrol, emergency services and commercial services.17

This paper examines how the use of UASs for surveillance in civil applications impacts upon privacy and other civil liberties. It argues that, despite the heterogeneity of these systems, the same “usual suspects” are targeted by deployments of UASs. It discusses how current legislation mechanisms might apply to UASs, with specific attention to privacy-related legislation in the USA, European Union and UK. It finds that current regulatory mechanisms do not adequately address privacy and civil liberties concerns because UASs are complex, multimodal surveillance systems that integrate a range of technologies and capabilities. Furthermore, the inadequacy of current legislation mechanisms results in disproportionate impacts on civil liberties for already marginalised populations.

Section snippets

Surveillance and civil liberties

Much critique surrounding the introduction of surveillance technologies such as UASs, or their expansion from military to civil applications, has centred on civil liberties concerns. Privacy represents a key framework through which surveillance technologies, and particularly “new surveillance”18

Capabilities and applications

The expanding capabilities of UAS devices mean that they have already been used, or are currently being used, for various civil applications. Furthermore, as these capabilities are further augmented and differentiated, experts envision that UASs will be used for still more applications. However, the intersection of these capabilities and applications in deployments against individuals for law enforcement or other security-related activities means that already marginalised populations are

Privacy impacts and ethical issues raised by the technology

While there are clear beneficiaries in relation to the deployment of UASs in civil applications, some academics, civil society organisations and journalists voice significant concerns about their large-scale deployment. Although safety is a significant consideration, the potential for ethical and privacy infringing practices represents a clear threat to civil liberties. Those who deploy UAS devices appear to be cognisant of these potential civil liberties concerns, where, for example, Lewis

Extent to which the existing legal framework addresses the privacy impacts

The numerous, relevant concerns about the safety, ethics and privacy impacts of UASs demonstrate that the use of these devices needs to be regulated. Broadly speaking, few regulations exist for the deployment of UAS surveillance. Part of the difficulty in drawing up regulatory parameters for the use of UASs is that UAVs span an entire spectrum between model aircraft and manned aerial vehicles such as planes and helicopters. Some UAVs are comparable to “large jet-powered machines capable of

Conclusion

This consideration of UASs as a “new surveillance” system being introduced for deployment in civil applications has raised significant issues. First, it finds that as a surveillance system, UASs continue a disproportionate attention to the activities of already marginalised populations. Existing divisions such as race, class, political orientation, gender and sexuality are already reflected in current deployments of UASs for policing and border control. Furthermore, the heterogeneity of UAS

Acknowledgement

This paper draws on research performed in the context of the PRESCIENT project (Privacy and emerging fields of science and technology: Towards a common framework for privacy and ethical assessment), funded by the European Commission under grant agreement no. 244779. The views in this paper are those of the authors alone and are in no way intended to reflect those of the European Commission or other members of the PRESCIENT consortium.

Rachel L. Finn ([email protected]), Trilateral Research & Consulting, LLP, London, UK.

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Rachel L. Finn ([email protected]), Trilateral Research & Consulting, LLP, London, UK.

David Wright ([email protected]), Trilateral Research & Consulting, LLP, London, UK.

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