Florida Explores Letting People Shoot Intrusive Drones Out of the Sky

Lawmakers in Florida want to give residents permission to literally take aim at invasive drones.

SB1422 is currently moving through the Florida Senate and would permit Floridians to use “reasonable force to prohibit a drone from conducting surveillance” if the bot is operating within 500 feet of their property.

Although the bill doesn’t define reasonable force, it could give legal cover to people wanting to take matters into their own hands, which could include trying to shoot the drone down, according to Fox News. 

The only problem is that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) currently outlaws shooting down drones. “An unmanned aircraft hit by gunfire could crash, causing damage to persons or property on the ground, or it could collide with other objects in the air,” the agency says in an FAQ. “Shooting at an unmanned aircraft could result in a civil penalty from the FAA and/or criminal charges from federal, state, or local law enforcement.” 

Another issue is that Florida law prohibits firing a gun in a residential neighborhood unless the resident is defending their life or property or engaging in lawful hunting. Shooting down an eavesdropping drone might not qualify. 

In the meantime, a Florida law that took effect last year already prohibits residents from using drones to record images of people’s private property for “surveillance” purposes. If SB1422 passes in its current form, the law is slated to take effect on Oct. 1.

About Michael Kan

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I’ve been working as a journalist for over 15 years—I got my start as a schools and cities reporter in Kansas City and joined PCMag in 2017.

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