In July, a fellow in Poland was questioned by police after he flew his drone over a neighbor’s house — the same house where a Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office deputy had been arrested on domestic violence charges a short time before. 

It happened on July 7 as Carl Shane was flying his drone to show it off to friends at a cookout. 

Three days after that drone flight, Shane was visited by Androscoggin County sheriff’s deputies who advised him he might have broken privacy laws. 

The key words being “might have.”

There’s still a chance that Shane could be in some trouble over the matter of his drone: As of Aug. 21, sheriff’s deputies were preparing to forward their information to the District Attorney’s Office for review.

Free speech experts insist that Shane did nothing wrong. Maine privacy laws, they said, are pretty clear.

“In order for someone to have a claim for wrongful invasion of privacy, there first has to be a reasonable expectation of privacy,” New England First Amendment Coalition President Gregory Sullivan told WMTW TV in the days after the incident. “So pretty much anything that occurs in public is fair game.” 

Unless the photographer is trespassing or using a telephoto lens to take photos of a private space, like the inside of a house, Sullivan explained, most videography is considered protected speech. 

There are many rules and laws regarding the use of drones depending on their size and use — everything from air space, to proximity to others, to privacy issues. Even the police themselves are forbidden from using drones in an up-close way unless they have warrant to do so. 

With drones becoming more and more ubiquitous, new court cases are emerging all the time as rules pertaining to privacy are considered and expanded. 

“As drones start to play bigger roles in things like emergency services and urban planning, everyone agrees we need clear rules, especially about privacy,” according to the group DSLR Pros, which provides drones for agriculture, construction and public safety uses.

“This means possibly new laws on where drones can go, what information they can collect, and how that data is managed. For police departments looking into drones, getting the right training is key to using them effectively and responsibly. This includes understanding everything from flying them safely to respecting privacy laws,” according to the group.