Demanding Answers About Predator Drone Flights in The United StatesGovernment Shares Drones with Law Enforcement Agencies Across the Country San Francisco The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) filed suit against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Tuesday, demanding answers about how and why it loans out its Predator drones to other law enforcement agencies across the country. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) a division of DHS uses the unmanned drones inside the U.S. to patrol the borders with surveillance equipment like video cameras, infrared cameras, heat sensors, and radar. But recent news articles as well as a report from DHS itself show CBP is expanding its surveillance work, flying Predator drone missions on behalf of a diverse group of local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies including a county sheriffs department in North Dakota, the Texas Rangers, the Bureau of Land Management, and the Department of Defense. EFF filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request asking for more information about these drone flights, but DHS has yet to respond to the request. EFFs lawsuit asks for an immediate response, including records and logs of CBP drone flights conducted in conjunction with other agencies. Weve seen bits and pieces of information on CBPs Predator drones, but Americans deserve the full story, said EFF Staff Attorney Jennifer Lynch. Drones are a powerful surveillance tool that can be used to gather extensive data about you and your activities. The public needs to know more about how and why these Predator drones are being used to watch U.S. citizens. FAAs foot-dragging means we cant get a real-time picture of drone activity in the U.S., said Lynch. If officials could release their records in a timely fashion or publish it as a matter of routine on the FAA website we could stop filing these FOIA requests and lawsuits. For the full FOIA lawsuits: For more about drones and privacy: Contacts: Related Cases: RELATED ACTIVIST POST ARTICLE/VIDEO: linkwithin_text=Related Articles: 