4 ms·

Unless he was trespassing on gov property i don't see how it can be espionage. If the gov flies a top secret plane or drone over you house and you happen to see

Unless he was trespassing on gov property i don't see how it can be espionage. If the gov flies a top secret plane or drone over you house and you happen to see it or even video it, i don't see how that's anyone's fault but theirs.

dopamean 4y ago
What if you fly a drone over a top secret base with a no fly zone over it?
- godzillabrennus 4y ago
  Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
- brookst 4y ago
  100% ok as long as the drone is not of the order Diptera.
thwayunion 4y ago
He doesn't have to trespass to break the law -- taking pictures from the outside is enough. 18 U.S. Code § 795(a) )Photographing and sketching defense installations): Whenever, in the interests of national defense, the President defines certain vital military and naval installations or equipment as requiring protection against the general dissemination of information relative thereto, it shall be unlawful to make any photograph, sketch, picture, drawing, map, or graphical representation of such vital military and naval installations or equipment without first obtaining permission of the commanding officer of the military or naval post, camp, or station, or naval vessels, military and naval aircraft, and any separate military or naval command concerned, or higher authority, and promptly submitting the product obtained to such commanding officer or higher authority for censorship or such other action as he may deem necessary. I'm not sure whether protected airspace would count as an installation, but the military base itself certainly would. Per the article, >> Dreamland Resort, at dreamlandresort.com, started by Arnu in 1999, features YouTube videos taken from drones flown over places around Area 51, satellite images of the base, a discussion forum with posts on the topic, articles on test flights, “black projects” and UFOs, and what it says are photos of new vehicles such as the so-called “super secret” Northrop Grumman RQ-180 unmanned stealth aircraft shown flying in 2021. Which leaves open also the possibility that they are investigating someone else; eg, someone with clearance getting an ego boost by posting info on the forums, which isn't unprecedented.
kube-system 4y ago
> features YouTube videos taken from drones flown over places around Area 51 These activities could be
EthanHeilman 4y ago
I don't know the laws on this, but from a common sense point of view such activities could be espionage if done as part of an espionage mission but could also not be espionage is done for other purposes. For instance if you happen to record which naval ships are in a harbor, that's not espionage. If on the other hand you are sending that film to German intelligence in exchange for your income as a German spy the act of taking that film is probably espionage.
ptero 4y ago
IANAL, but I think distributing classified information, even if you did not get it illegally, is still a crime. So if a secret thing flies over your house you are probably OK taking its picture, but if you share it with the world the feds may come for you.
- pessimizer 4y ago
  It is not.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- thatfunkymunki 4y ago
  this is false, prior restraint is not a thing. It is forbidden to improperly distribute classified information that you have access to as a security clearance holder, but just think for a moment whether there have been any charges filed for any newsmedia organizations that reported on the snowden leaks, etc.
  - ptero 4y ago
    Interesting, thank you for the clarification!
    - HWR_14 4y ago
      To further clarify, if the newspapers has anything to do with the act of giving them classified documents, they are guilty of a crime. So if you walk into the NYT and say " I have these secret documents, want them" they are fine and can publish them and (depending on how you got them) you get to spend a long time in jail. If a reporter comes to you and says "hey, can you sneak out classified documents" and you do, you both go to jail. It's worth noting that news agencies will often give the government a chance to explain why they should not publish the files in truly important cases. If that's likely to be "if you publish the plans for D-Day, many people will die. So please don't"
- ben7799 4y ago
__MatrixMan__ 4y ago
Maybe seeing a secret government aircraft from private property makes that property into government property for as long as it takes to render the aircraft unseen.

dopamean 4y ago

What if you fly a drone over a top secret base with a no fly zone over it?

godzillabrennus 4y ago
Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
brookst 4y ago
100% ok as long as the drone is not of the order Diptera.

thwayunion 4y ago

He doesn't have to trespass to break the law -- taking pictures from the outside is enough. 18 U.S. Code § 795(a) )Photographing and sketching defense installations): Whenever, in the interests of national defense, the President defines certain vital military and naval installations or equipment as requiring protection against the general dissemination of information relative thereto, it shall be unlawful to make any photograph, sketch, picture, drawing, map, or graphical representation of such vital military and naval installations or equipment without first obtaining permission of the commanding officer of the military or naval post, camp, or station, or naval vessels, military and naval aircraft, and any separate military or naval command concerned, or higher authority, and promptly submitting the product obtained to such commanding officer or higher authority for censorship or such other action as he may deem necessary. I'm not sure whether protected airspace would count as an installation, but the military base itself certainly would. Per the article, >> Dreamland Resort, at dreamlandresort.com, started by Arnu in 1999, features YouTube videos taken from drones flown over places around Area 51, satellite images of the base, a discussion forum with posts on the topic, articles on test flights, “black projects” and UFOs, and what it says are photos of new vehicles such as the so-called “super secret” Northrop Grumman RQ-180 unmanned stealth aircraft shown flying in 2021. Which leaves open also the possibility that they are investigating someone else; eg, someone with clearance getting an ego boost by posting info on the forums, which isn't unprecedented.

kube-system 4y ago

> features YouTube videos taken from drones flown over places around Area 51 These activities could be

EthanHeilman 4y ago

I don't know the laws on this, but from a common sense point of view such activities could be espionage if done as part of an espionage mission but could also not be espionage is done for other purposes. For instance if you happen to record which naval ships are in a harbor, that's not espionage. If on the other hand you are sending that film to German intelligence in exchange for your income as a German spy the act of taking that film is probably espionage.

ptero 4y ago

IANAL, but I think distributing classified information, even if you did not get it illegally, is still a crime. So if a secret thing flies over your house you are probably OK taking its picture, but if you share it with the world the feds may come for you.

pessimizer 4y ago
It is not.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
thatfunkymunki 4y ago
this is false, prior restraint is not a thing. It is forbidden to improperly distribute classified information that you have access to as a security clearance holder, but just think for a moment whether there have been any charges filed for any newsmedia organizations that reported on the snowden leaks, etc.
- ptero 4y ago
  Interesting, thank you for the clarification!
  - HWR_14 4y ago
    To further clarify, if the newspapers has anything to do with the act of giving them classified documents, they are guilty of a crime. So if you walk into the NYT and say " I have these secret documents, want them" they are fine and can publish them and (depending on how you got them) you get to spend a long time in jail. If a reporter comes to you and says "hey, can you sneak out classified documents" and you do, you both go to jail. It's worth noting that news agencies will often give the government a chance to explain why they should not publish the files in truly important cases. If that's likely to be "if you publish the plans for D-Day, many people will die. So please don't"
ben7799 4y ago

__MatrixMan__ 4y ago

Maybe seeing a secret government aircraft from private property makes that property into government property for as long as it takes to render the aircraft unseen.