Drone News: ACLU Releases Major Report, Houses Passes ACERO Act, & a Questionable Bill in SC

Welcome to your weekly UAS News Update, we have three stories for you: the ACLU releases a major report on drone surveillance and airspace restrictions, the House unanimously passes the ACERO Act for wildfire drone operations, and a questionable South Carolina bill . Let's get to it.

First up this week, the American Civil Liberties Union has published a major report arguing that U.S. drone policy is locking ordinary people out of the skies. The report is titled "Drones For Them But Not For Us?" and it claims the current rules give government agencies and corporations unchecked access to the skies while restricting citizens and journalists. The paper cites several concerning examples, including reports of the NYPD flying Skydio X10 drones directly over protest crowds without parachute recovery systems, massive airspace lockdowns, like a 935-square-mile temporary flight restriction over Chicago during federal operations, and invisible 3,000-foot no-fly zones that follow Department of Homeland Security vehicles.

The report calls out trends where hobbyists and commercial pilots face more restrictions, while government agencies get a free pass. It also touches on the foreign drone ban, warning that it could price consumer drones out of reach. Much of this is not new to this audience, as we’ve been reporting on it for the last several years. It’s interesting now that those outside of the UAS industry are beginning to take notice. We’ll keep an eye on this and see if it goes anywhere. Next up, the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed the ACERO Act, sending the bipartisan wildfire drone bill to the Senate. This legislation directs NASA to expand its Advanced Capabilities for Emergency Response Operations project. The goal is to tackle airspace coordination during active wildfires. Right now, when a fire is burning, helicopters, fixed-wing tankers, and drones all share the same airspace. The bill requires NASA to build a shared framework using their Portable Airspace Management System, which shares aircraft locations across a fire zone in real time. Think of this system as basically portable unmanned and manned traffic management, which can be deployed in remote locations. Using drones to keep firefighters safe and track wildfires is exactly the kind of innovation our industry needs, and we’re glad to see Congress supporting it.Finally, South Carolina lawmakers are considering a new bill that would impose restrictions on drone pilots. The bill, H4679, proposes to ban UAS operations within 1,000 feet of any “Critical Infrastructure”, over or within 1500 feet of any state or county correctional facility without authorization from the facility or SC Department of Corrections, over or within 1500 feet of any military installation, and over private property “in a matter that invades privacy, harasses occupants, creates a nuisance, or presents an obvious safety hazard”. In addition, the bill would make it unlawful to operate within 5 miles of an airport without FAA authorization. As many of us know, authorization is based on airspace, not distance to an airport.

If you’re in South Carolina, it’s time to start reaching out to your representatives. This bill is sponsored by C. Mitchell, B.L. Cox, M.M. Smith, Wooten, Chapman, W. Newton, Herbkersman, Wickensimer, Guest and McCravy. That’s it for this week, We’ll see you in the community for Post Flight, where we share our opinions, and next Monday for the live! https://dronexl.co/2026/03/27/aclu-drone-policy-government-surveillance/https://dronexl.co/2026/03/27/house-acero-act-drone-wildfire-bill/https://www.wrdw.com/2026/03/30/sc-drone-bill-would-create-state-penalties-illegal-flights/