THE BAIS HAVAAD HALACHA JOURNAL: Volume 5776 Issue II Parshas Noach THE BAIS HAVAAD HALACHA JOURNAL: Volume 5776 Issue II Parshas Noach Civilian Drones and Privacy Concerns May One Fly a Drone Over Someone's Property and Infringe on Their Privacy? By Rabbi Micha Cohn

This past week another drone flew too close to the White House. The proliferation of civilian drones has raised many safety and privacy concerns. In this article we will explore some of these issues from a halachic perspective. Is it permitted to fly a drone over another person’s property if it will infringe on their privacy? It is permitted to stop a drone from flying over one’s property by disturbing its communications or shooting it down? If the law of the land would permit this under certain circumstances, would this affect the halacha?