“We must send a clear message that we will not tolerate illegal surveillance of American soil,” Rep. Jen Kegans said.
The bipartisan law was introduced in the House to protect US defense sites from video surveillance by foreign agents, particularly those who work in China’s communist regimes.
House Armed Services Committee members Jen Kigans (R-Va.) and Don Davis (DN.C.) introduced Drone Spying Act (HR 2939) to ensure that drones were punished under the Spinerger Act of 1917 to film videos of US defense infrastructure using drones.
“As a naval veteran representing one of the most military districts in the country, I know how important it is to protect defense infrastructure and protect sensitive national security information,” Kiggans said in a statement.
The law will hold bad actors accountable, impose serious consequences and protect US national security, she added.
“As China and other enemies increase the threat and use of drones, we must send a clear message that we will not tolerate illegal surveillance in American soils,” Kiggans said.
Spying has already criminalised the use of aircraft for illegal photography of military facilities. The law would amend the law to include “video” in its list of criminal intelligence gathering means.
If enacted, a convicted person will be sentenced to a maximum of 10 years in prison, a fine, or both.
“If our enemy is trying to gain unauthorized access to aviation footage from sensitive military sites, Congress must take action,” Davis said in a statement. “We need a common sense approach to protecting military facilities and protecting classified information.”
Criminal cases
Over the past year, there have been two criminal cases of drones operated by Chinese citizens.
Last October, Feng Kyung Shee, a Chinese citizen studying at the University of Minnesota, was sentenced to six months in a district court in the Eastern District of Virginia. A few months ago, Sea pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts under the Spy Act to fly a drone to film a US military ship on a Virginia naval shipyard.
One of the shipyards was Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS). In a court filing at the time, NNS security manager Joshua Kitaro said the facility was used to build US Navy ships and submarines, refueling nuclear aircraft carriers.
“Many and several components of these naval programs are categorized to top secrets at various levels to protect US national security,” Quitaro writes. “Ensuring that airspace is safe from unauthorized private drone flights is a rogue private drone flight, like in Mr. Sea, and is extremely important for the continued work of the US Navy NNS.”
On March 31, Chinese citizen Yinpiao Zhou was sentenced to four months in prison time in the district court in the Central District of California. Zhou, who was arrested last December, pleaded guilty to one count of violating national defense airspace by flying a drone over Vandenburg Space Force Base in California and taking photos of the facility.
According to court documents, Zhou used a drone manufactured by China-based DJI.
A few weeks before Zhou’s arrest, the Vandenberg Space Force Base held a test launch for the unarmed Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missile. The launch of the test was part of a regular activity aimed at showing that the US nuclear deterrent was “safe, safe, reliable and effective to stop the threat of the 21st century.” According to a statement from the base.
