Civil liberties groups urge D.C. Circuit to strike down FAA drone ban on recording immigration agents

The FAA issued a flight restriction earlier this year that effectively criminalized drone operators who recorded Department of Homeland Security officers — including ICE and CBP agents and their vehicle convoys — even from over half a mile away. A drone operator sued in March, represented by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. The FAA rescinded the restriction in April.

The petitioner argues the court should still rule on the restriction's legality. Drone pilots could face punishment for violations committed while it was in effect, and the FAA could reinstate it at any time. The rescission, the petitioner argues, looked less like a change of policy than an attempt to dodge judicial review.

EFF, the ACLU, the National Press Photographers Association, and Professional Photographers of America filed an amicus brief supporting that argument. They contend drone recording is First Amendment-protected activity, and that the FAA imposed the no-drone zones around DHS patrols specifically as those patrols drew national backlash — making it a content-based restriction presumptively unconstitutional under strict scrutiny.