Anyone can get away with being a Peeping Tom if they use a drone, so long as they don’t record anything.
This according to a Hong Kong lawmaker who, to be clear, was not encouraging creeps to buy unmanned aerial vehicles but calling for tougher restrictions on drones.
Speaking to a radio program, Michael Tien pointed out that there was a loophole in privacy legislation — one he discovered after asking police what, hypothetically, he should do if he was filmed in the bath by someone using a drone (at least we’re pretty sure it was hypothetical).
“If you watch a person live through the drone and do not save the video, you won’t violate anyone’s privacy. If you save it and send it to others, then you have violated privacy,” Tien said, according to the Standard.
Hmmm. Regardless of the letter of the law, we here at Coconuts Hong Kong would lean toward that being a “massive invasion of privacy.”
Tien, who is a member of the Tsuen Wan district council, called on the Privacy Commissioner and Civil Aviation Department to review drone-related legislation.
He also noted that it was not a violation of privacy if a video did not show any distinctive characteristics that others recognize, such as the face or body tattoo.
According to a Facebook post last week, the lawmaker began his inquiries about the unmanned aerial vehicles after residents from Sham Tseng and Tsing Lung Tau expressed concerns about their privacy because of drones flying around their homes.
The lawmaker said in the post that when he asked the police how a report should be made if a drone filmed him while he took a bath, they replied that under the current regulations, the drone owner would not be committing an offense if the drone is lighter than seven kilograms, there were few people around, and there was no threat to anyone’s safety.
Meanwhile, in other drone-related news, two men face potential jail time for flying drones during the Formula E race over the weekend.
According to hk01, the suspects included a a 34-year-old local man surnamed Mok, and a 25-year-old mainland man surnamed Chen.
According to the website, Mok was arrested on Saturday afternoon and later released on bail after police received a report that a drone flying over the track that morning fell onto Lung Wo Road near Tamar Park and almost hit two men. Mok will have to report to the police later this month.
The website also reported that police arrested Chen yesterday morning after receiving reports that a drone was flying over the track.
According to article 48 of the Air Navigation (Hong Kong) Order, those who “recklessly or negligently cause or permit an aircraft to endanger any person or property” can face a fine and up to two years in jail.
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