Florida Bill Could Let Homeowners Shoot Down Spying Drones
A Florida bill could soon allow homeowners to shoot down drones that are flying over their property.
Senate Bill SB1422 is making its way through the Florida Senate and would allow residents to use “reasonable force to prohibit a drone from conducting surveillance.”
Although the bill doesn’t define reasonable force, it could give legal cover to people wanting to take matters into their own hands, which could include trying to shoot the drone down.
The bill specifies that the drone must be flying under 500 feet over someone’s property before they are allowed to take action against it.
However, Florida’s potential law appears to conflict with federal law. While state lawmakers may support citizen action against drones, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) strongly disagrees. The agency considers drones to be aircraft, making it illegal to shoot at them.
“A private citizen shooting at any aircraft, including unmanned aircraft, poses a significant safety hazard,” the FAA warns.
“An unmanned aircraft hit by gunfire could crash, causing damage to persons or property on the ground, or it could collide with other objects in the air.”
“Shooting at an unmanned aircraft could result in a civil penalty from the FAA and/or criminal charges from federal, state, or local law enforcement,” the agency adds.
The bill is part of Florida’s broader effort to regulate Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) as drone usage continues to rise across the U.S. SB1422 aims to widen drone-restricted areas, extending no-fly zones beyond neighborhoods to include critical locations such as airports, prisons, refineries, and pipelines. However, drones would still be allowed for law enforcement purposes, particularly for crowd surveillance.
The bill has already cleared multiple committees and is now headed for a vote in the full Senate. If it passes, the new law could take effect as soon as October 2025.
While nearly 800,000 drones are registered with the Federal Aviation Administration, the agency estimates that more than a million people are actively using them for both recreational and commercial activities.
The bill comes amid reports that major insurance companies across the U.S. are now flying drones, surveillance balloons, and even manned planes to take images of customers’ homes and find reasons to cancel their policies. Last year, a Californian woman, who spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on home renovation, had her insurance canceled after the company flew a drone over her house and cited unsanitary conditions.
Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.
