From the article, "Neal Kurk (R), member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives since 1986 has recently sponsored HB 619-FN to make aerial photography illegal in their state, which many are considering a look into the future."
This is a state-level proposal in one of the smallest states in the United States. All of the comments about the "federal" or "United States" government in this thread apparently aren't based on reading the fine article. Moreover, the text of the proposed bill, "A person is guilty of a class A misdemeanor if such person knowingly creates or assists in creating an image of the exterior of any residential dwelling in this state where such image is created by or with the assistance of a satellite, drone, or any device that is not supported by the ground. This prohibition shall not apply where the image does not reveal forms identifiable as human beings or man-made objects. In this paragraph, 'dwelling' means any building, structure, or portion thereof which is occupied as, or designed or intended for occupancy as, a residence by one or more individuals," could reasonably be construed as a privacy protection. (That's the context I would expect from New Hampshire, where the state motto is "Live free or die.") The first person quoted as a specific opponent of the bill in this article (which is more balanced than the comments in this thread) is a real estate photographer. Well, yeah, maybe I as an individual don't want multiple real estate agencies flying planes over my house to take photos, possibly when I am in my yard in view of airplanes and helicopters. Reasonable minds could take either side of this bill, but don't react to the link-bait headline, but to the actual text of the bill and its context among current business practice and other legislation.
From the website's description of itself:
"About us & our story
"AGBeat is Business news, insights, tools, and inspiration for small business owners and professionals. AGBeat condenses news information on technology, business, small and medium business, NPO’s, social media, startups, real estate, economics and more, so you don’t have to.
"In 2007, AGBeat began as Agent/Genius (AG) . Fed up and disgusted with the pay to play real estate space, we decided to radically change the face of news publishing by giving industry professionals a legitimate voice.
"Successful to date in its fundamental mission, AG is a multi-award winning publication and its columnists and editors are named as some of the most influential in real estate, business, and in technology. AG is known for ripping the lid off of hot new technologies, startups, and mashups- everyone knows that if it’s on AG, it’s relevant.
"In late 2009, AG took on News and Business News, seeking to disrupt a drab and boring, and mostly pay to play business publishing space and continues to bring honest coverage and insight to an eager audience. Because of AG’s footprint within the tech startup space and in the business category, we needed a way to expand our publication, and in 2011, we changed our masthead to AGBeat, launching a brand around Agent/Genius."
Oh, so the link-bait headline comes from a group of real estate agents who want to spread alarm at their business actually being subjected to the rule of law. What a surprise.
...possibly when I am in my yard in view of airplanes and helicopters
That's a bit of a stretch in terms of things to be concerned about, don't you think?
I frequently have low flying airplanes (someone around here owns a really pretty Piper Cub), ultralights, helicopters and hot-air balloons (there's a local business offering flights) passing close enough over my house that I can hear the occupants talking.
It's par for the course of living out in the country: they're in relatively empty airspace away from the city. Except for the fact that the helos are noisy if they come too close at night, there is nothing bothersome about any of them.
I'm much more concerned that if I decided to take up aerial photography from an R/C plane or balloon as a hobby, I'd now be breaking a law.
First sentence in article: "In New Hampshire, an aerial photography ban has raised more questions than answer as fears regarding drones heat up - measured reaction or overreaction?"
Thanks for the added detail. With the specific prohibitions on photographs of residences that include people, this does seem like it might have grown out of privacy issues rather than from the secrecy and paranoia that produces doctored or inaccurate images of government buildings in online maps. I'd argue that the prohibition should specifically cover only people inside the residential structure, and have some concept of scale (so that a photo at a scale that has people as unidentifiable single pixels doesn't count), but the concept doesn't seem excessively unreasonable in the same spirit as "don't take pictures through people's windows".
> With the specific prohibitions on photographs of residences that include people
How do you arrive at that conclusion? The language of the bill specifically excludes from prohibition images not containing "forms identifiable as human beings or man-made objects" (emphasis mine) - yet the
writer of the article came to the same conclusion you have:
..."possibly implying that if no human is in any photo or video taken, it is acceptable."
This is a state-level proposal in one of the smallest states in the United States. All of the comments about the "federal" or "United States" government in this thread apparently aren't based on reading the fine article. Moreover, the text of the proposed bill, "A person is guilty of a class A misdemeanor if such person knowingly creates or assists in creating an image of the exterior of any residential dwelling in this state where such image is created by or with the assistance of a satellite, drone, or any device that is not supported by the ground. This prohibition shall not apply where the image does not reveal forms identifiable as human beings or man-made objects. In this paragraph, 'dwelling' means any building, structure, or portion thereof which is occupied as, or designed or intended for occupancy as, a residence by one or more individuals," could reasonably be construed as a privacy protection. (That's the context I would expect from New Hampshire, where the state motto is "Live free or die.") The first person quoted as a specific opponent of the bill in this article (which is more balanced than the comments in this thread) is a real estate photographer. Well, yeah, maybe I as an individual don't want multiple real estate agencies flying planes over my house to take photos, possibly when I am in my yard in view of airplanes and helicopters. Reasonable minds could take either side of this bill, but don't react to the link-bait headline, but to the actual text of the bill and its context among current business practice and other legislation.
From the website's description of itself:
"About us & our story
"AGBeat is Business news, insights, tools, and inspiration for small business owners and professionals. AGBeat condenses news information on technology, business, small and medium business, NPO’s, social media, startups, real estate, economics and more, so you don’t have to.
"In 2007, AGBeat began as Agent/Genius (AG) . Fed up and disgusted with the pay to play real estate space, we decided to radically change the face of news publishing by giving industry professionals a legitimate voice.
"Successful to date in its fundamental mission, AG is a multi-award winning publication and its columnists and editors are named as some of the most influential in real estate, business, and in technology. AG is known for ripping the lid off of hot new technologies, startups, and mashups- everyone knows that if it’s on AG, it’s relevant.
"In late 2009, AG took on News and Business News, seeking to disrupt a drab and boring, and mostly pay to play business publishing space and continues to bring honest coverage and insight to an eager audience. Because of AG’s footprint within the tech startup space and in the business category, we needed a way to expand our publication, and in 2011, we changed our masthead to AGBeat, launching a brand around Agent/Genius."
http://agbeat.com/about/
Oh, so the link-bait headline comes from a group of real estate agents who want to spread alarm at their business actually being subjected to the rule of law. What a surprise.