Drones have become ubiquitous now. The technological developments have led to seemingly endless commercial applications of drones. However, this innovative technology can pose some serious threats and challenges in our lives. The drone can be obnoxious to many people. The procedure of drone invasion has become a cause of trouble. This everyday consumer electronic device may mess up with people’s privacy, leaking their secrets and confidential information or photographs. None of us like our privacy being spilled from those microphones or cameras that capture our live feed. How can we trust the pilot of the drone has been flying it responsibly?
Here are the measures on ‘how to legally take down a drone.’ These measures can legally stop drones from flying over homes. More than 11600 registered drone operators and almost half a million drones for recreational flying in the United States of America.
1.File a legal complaint
You can file a legal complaint if you are concerned that your privacy is being invaded. The officer will handle the case against the drone’s operator.
2. No shooting
Sometimes, you can be tempted to shoot down the drone flying over your land, too close for your comfort. But wait a minute; don’t pull your trigger because it’s illegal to discharge a firearm even if the drone is over your property. Since the FAA considers a drone an ‘aircraft,’ shooting a drone is not legal to take down a drone. Otherwise, you might get arrested or charged for discharging someone’s property. The risks associated with shooting down a drone are as follows:
- Risk other people’s safety
- Constitute a fire hazard (busting a battery may catch fire)
- The drone operator has the legal right to ask for compensation in case you’ve damaged their property. So don’t think of destroying, damaging, and interfering with a drone as it makes you a federal criminal.
- The court of law won’t take your self-defense claim as a viable option since firing a weapon can be taken as a form of criminal mischief.
It is illegal to take down a drone by shooting it down that hovers over your house.
3. Using Net Guns
More and more people around the globe are using net guns, which are classified as legal tools to protect people and their properties from illegal flying drones. Net guns are legal and won’t permanently destroy or harm the helicopter drones while also protecting your private property. Net guns are safe, durable but keeping a net gun implies your responsibility and liability for that thing and decisions you make with it. Net guns are tools for drone defense, but they must not be taken as ‘toys’ to mess with. Net guns help the people through trapping of captives by huge net spread around them. So, you can handle an invasive buzzing quadcopter by firing out a net with net guns.
4. Counter-UAS technology
Counter-drone technology works to detect and intercept unmanned aerial vehicles while in flight. As mass adoption of drones takes place, the growth of counter-drone technology is also there to concern the threats posed by drones in civilian and military environments. Counter-drone technologies can be divided into drone detection and drone mitigation/interception. While the discussion is on the measures on how to legally take down a drone, it is essential to find out if counter-drone measures are legal. In the United States of America, only federal agencies like the US Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, and Department of Justice are authorized to use signal jammers.
Radio Frequencies (RF) Analyzers that try to detect radio communication between drones and their controllers and Radar (that uses radio energy to detect drones) are legal in the US. While RF is cost-effective and serves the prosecution aims, it can’t always locate and detect autonomous drones. Although radars are designed to not pick small targets and can track all autonomous drones, they require transmission license and frequency checks.
Drone detection technologies are legal, depending on the state laws but interception technology such as jamming, spoofing may not be lawful.
The best measure on ‘how to legally take down a drone’ is to act reasonably and responsibly. Sometimes, even when the drone owner isn’t committing any serious action intentionally, we may mistake it for our comfort invasion.
-If the drones are flying over your property recklessly, and you are able to collect sufficient evidence, you can file a complaint and get a restraining order against the drone operator.
-Don’t jump directly to a conclusion. Not all drones flying are being used to spy on you, your family, or your house. Instead, expend your effort in trying to find out the owner of the drone so that you can figure out what they are doing and communicate how it bothers your privacy.
If this way doesn’t work, you can call law enforcement agencies if you are quite sure the drone is hovering to spy on you and invade your privacy. But before that, get info from the neighborhood association whether there’s any restriction regarding drone operations over someone’s house. If such restriction exists, then law enforcement agencies will sort out the issue by stopping the drone operator from flying there.
-Check out the locally applicable laws on how high homeowners can build a structure on residential property. Some laws define property boundaries. So, if unmanned aerial vehicles fly within this boundary, the homeowner can take reasonable legal action against the operator for trespassing on the property.
-The homeowners can seek relief under UAS laws that restrict UAS surveillance of individuals without consent. Be wide to reach for a phone call rather than the shotgun. Every person has the right to privacy and quiet enjoyment of their land. However, sometimes, the rights of homeowners contradict the property right of the drone operator.
Drone detection technology-Jamming
A jammer transmits a large amount of RF energy towards the drone’s frequency to disrupt its communication. The risk associated with jamming equipment is that you can interrupt the transmission of other authorized radio signals.
So, federal law considers it illegal to jam any type of radio signal, including a drone and its operator. It also restricts the use and sale of any such equipment. Depending upon the drone, using the jammer can result in unpredictable drone behavior and flying off of the drone in a random uncontrolled direction.
Is spoofing the legal measure to take control of a drone?
How to legally take down a drone ? Spoofing is the method of disrupting the normal communication between a drone and its owner by using software or hardware. It spoofs the signals that let the spoofer take control of the drone, access the drone’s data, or view its camera’s feed (although it depends on the type of equipment used). The United States and most other countries still highly consider spoofing or jamming of drone radio signals illegal. Even FAA restricts the use of jammers to police and other local law enforcement agencies apart from military and authorized agencies only.
Use birds to capture the drone?
The Dutch National Police partnered up with Guard from Above company to determine whether eagles can be trained to intercept and take down the unauthorized drone or be used as an anti-drone weapon system. As much as the idea sounds safe, birds’ safety comes into question, given the larger drones. This technique might evoke a legal issue especially in the United States, where many people advocate animal rights.
Is signal disruptor legal?
The signal disruptor causes the drone to go into the pre-programmed routine or hover to the ground. The advantage of using a signal disruptor is that you can take multiple shots, and there won’t be a discharge of firearms. Only Feds have access to this method in the US.
Hacking the drone by using Wi-Fi to connect to an unsecured network port on the device may seem like an exotic realm. Still, it requires technical knowledge, and your decision won’t please both Federal Aviation Administration and Federal Communications Commission.
More clear rules and their enforcement are required to reflect the new reality of the chances of drones hovering over people’s backyards and personal property. If you are bothered by an intrusive drone, don’t attempt to disable the drone by using some methods mentioned above and take the law into your hand.
Conclusion on how to legally take down a drone
Many people value their privacy to an extreme level. The sound of a drone buzzing above prompts the combination of rage and anxiety. All drones aren’t meant to be spy machines and pose a threat to your comfort and safety, but it is an obvious matter of concern. Don’t go after the shoddy, irresponsible demonstration to get rid of drones. Although the technology has cruised at a frenetic pace, the state laws haven’t caught up yet. You don’t really shoot every car driving by your house. It may be the same with drones until they start clicking and recording your activities. So, a good way to legally take down a drone and deal with your despise towards drones is through constructive dialogue with the drone owner.
