Drone Espionage Act

The Drone Espionage Act would update federal espionage law to explicitly prohibit taking or transmitting unauthorized video recordings of U.S. military installations. Currently, the Espionage Act of 1917 criminalizes unauthorized still photographs of defense sites, but does not cover video footage. This bill would close that loophole by amending federal law to include videography among prohibited forms of imagery related to national defense.

The bill has been approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee and is eligible for a floor vote. Supporters argue the legislation is necessary to address national security threats posed by adversaries using drones to conduct surveillance of sensitive military facilities. Recent cases cited include incidents involving foreign nationals and individuals using drones to record video at military installations including Space Force bases and naval shipyards. If enacted, the bill would make unauthorized drone video surveillance of military installations a federal crime with criminal penalties.

The legislation has bipartisan support in Congress. Citizens would not be directly affected unless they attempted to record video at military installations without authorization. The bill specifically targets espionage and intelligence gathering activities rather than ordinary civilian activities.