Border Patrol Drones May Get Wiretapping, Human Identification Capabilities
Posted in: Today's ChiliNEW YORK — Newly released documents show the Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection agency is preparing to deploy drones along the border that could intercept electronic communications. The agency denied that it is doing so now, but left open the possibility that it could do so in the future.
The documents, released on Feb. 21 in response to a public records response from the Electronic Privacy Information Center, will likely fuel the debate over whether CBP is doing enough to protect Americans’ privacy as it fields a growing fleet of Predator drones; it has 10 so far. The drones have been promoted largely as a means to curb illegal immigration and the drug trade, but critics have charged that they are costly and ineffective.
The 2005 contract awarded to General Atomics, the Predator’s manufacturer, includes a requirement for a “Signals Interception Receiver.” In addition to the potential electronic intercept capability, the documents show that CBP’s drones are already capable of distinguishing human forms. The drones are also supposed to be able to detect, recognize and identify a standing human being from the air.
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