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Suppression of drone footage violates First Amendment, company claims

LEGAL NEWSLINE

Saturday, November 23, 2024

Suppression of drone footage violates First Amendment, company claims

Federal Court
Drone

RALEIGH, N.C. (Legal Newsline) – A battle between land surveyors and companies using drones to take aerial photos has caused a federal lawsuit in North Carolina.

360 Drone Services says in its March 22 lawsuit its First Amendment right to create useful information out of its aerial images is hampered by the actions of the North Carolina Board of Examiners for Engineers and Surveyors.

“As most people would understand it, ‘land surveying’ involves establishing legal boundaries between tracts of lands,” the suit says.

“Yet the North Carolina Board… takes a far more aggressive view. According to the Board, capturing and disseminating data about the dimensions of elevations of land – or the size of objects on land – requires a full-blown land-surveyor license.”

At least a half-dozen other drone companies have been issued the cease and desist letters like the one sent to 360, the lawsuit says.

“Simply, the projects the Board targets – aerial photos, data, 3D digital models and the like – are speech that is fully protected by the First Amendment,” the suit says.

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