Biden Plan Would Give Local Agencies Permission to Go After Malicious Drones

pcmag.com:

There are plenty of drone regulations on the books establishing rules that both commercial and recreational drone pilots need to follow when flying, but they don’t actually prevent bad actors from sending a drone up. So, the Biden administration is looking to expand government capabilities to take down these unmanned aircraft systems (UAS).

“Malicious actors have increasingly used UAS domestically to commit crimes, conduct illegal surveillance and industrial espionage, and thwart law enforcement efforts at the local, state and federal level,” according to the White House, which released an action plan this week that's intended to counter such activity by giving local agencies more power to act.

The administration claims there are gaps in the law that prevent government and law enforcement from protecting people and security interests. It wants to work with Congress to close those gaps and “enact a comprehensive criminal statute that sets clear standards for legal and illegal uses, closes loopholes in existing federal law, and establishes adequate penalties to deter the most serious UAS-related crimes.”

The plan aims to increase the scope of who can tackle this “nefarious UAS activity” as well as where and how they can accomplish it. In addition to reauthorizing and expanding on the authority of the Departments of Homeland Security, Justice, Defense, and State as well as the CIA and NASA, the administration aims to provide law enforcement agencies the authority to detect and mitigate drone activity.

This would include law enforcement agencies at the state, local, territorial, and Tribal (SLTT) levels. It would also grant critical infrastructure owners and operators the ability to purchase equipment for federal and SLTT