ACLU Settles Drone Surveillance Lawsuit Against Sonoma County

The ACLU Foundation of Northern California settled a lawsuit against Sonoma County over a code enforcement drone surveillance program. Under the settlement, Sonoma County Code Enforcement is barred from warrantless drone surveillance of homes or surrounding areas except in limited situations such as emergencies or property owner consent. Permit Sonoma must notify residents if their home was surveilled by drone, delete drone footage within 30 days of collection or investigation close, and stop sharing images with third parties unless required by law. The county must present a revised drone policy to the Board of Supervisors and produce flight logs to the ACLU for two years.