Among the nearly 100 laws that went into effect in Kansas on Friday is one that deals with drones and personal privacy.
The legislation stems from a complaint by a family in Olathe who accused a neighbor of frequently flying a small unmanned aircraft, often called a drone, over their property. The family argued for a right to privacy after they complained of seeing the same drone hovering above their backyard on a regular basis.
An early form of the bill would have created a 350-foot privacy buffer zone above residential homes. Instead, lawmakers decided to amend the Kansas Protection from Stalking Act.
The definition of harassment is now expanded to include any action carried out through the use of drones over any dwelling, occupied vehicle, or other places where one may reasonably expect to be safe from uninvited surveillance.
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