What Do You Think of Anti-drone Legislation?

The Counter-drone Systems Safety, Security, and Reauthorization Act, introduced by the House Homeland Security Committee, replaces the 2018 Preventing Emerging Threats Act, which was set to expire in September. The House bill seeks to expand and strengthen the authority of the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, and the Federal Aviation Administration to address the growing drone threat.

The misuse of small drones must be effectively regulated. This bill would expand the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to mitigate the threat from errant drone systems, while giving the Federal Aviation Administration some additional anti-drone powers.

The bipartisan legislation also marks the most significant move by Congress to date to address the growing threat posed by drones operating in an unsafe or malicious manner near airports and other critical infrastructure or in crowded places such as football stadiums.

"Counter-UAS is one of the issues that fall under the jurisdiction of the House committees. The Transportation Committee is obviously responsible for drone integration and airspace, while the Federal Aviation Administration is responsible," said a congressional aide. "The Homeland Security Committee is responsible for the Department of Homeland Security, and the Judiciary Committee is responsible for the Department of Justice.

The Anti-Drone Act would extend existing anti-drone powers of the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice until October 1, 2028. According to a statement from Republican members of the House Homeland Security Committee, among other measures, the bill would:

Clarify and improve coordination requirements between DHS, DOJ, DOT and FAA.
Ensure that information collected by approved anti-drone systems is not misused or retained for long periods of time.
Prohibit DHS and DOJ from using or authorizing the use of anti-drone systems made by certain foreign (particularly Chinese) companies.
Provide anti-drone authority to DHS’s main investigative arm, Homeland Security Investigations; and provide DHS with anti-drone authority to protect public airports.
Allow DHS to authorize owners or operators of regulated sites and critical infrastructure to acquire, deploy and operate anti-drone systems.
Require DHS to establish an anti-drone mitigation pilot program, designating five pilot sites where selected state law enforcement agencies can operate approved anti-drone mitigation systems.
Require the Federal Aviation Administration to coordinate with DHS and DOJ to develop an airport anti-drone action plan.

Under current law, DHS has the authority to intercept and shoot down drones that are operating in an unsafe manner in certain circumstances. The proposed legislation would extend this authority to the FAA in limited circumstances. Under the bill, the FAA administrator could take action to "detect or mitigate credible threats to the safe and efficient operation of the national airspace system."

Under the bill, the FAA is also responsible for evaluating the potential adverse effects of anti-drone detection or mitigation systems on "safe airport operations, aircraft navigation, air traffic services, or the safe and efficient operation of the national airspace system."

Anti-drone technology: interception signals

One of the most effective means of defeating small illegal drones is to use anti-drone equipment to transmit interception jamming radio signals, thereby preventing drones from flying, forcing them to land or return home.

Using anti-drone systems is a potential criminal offense and also raises privacy concerns about data collection. But law enforcement agencies will be exempt.

The bill would first conduct a pilot program to expand anti-drone authority to state and local jurisdictions to provide realistic support for the passage of subsequent bills.

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