[Senator Chuck Gra**ley]
Do the FBI own or currently use drones, and if so, for what purpose?
[FBI Director Robert Mueller]
Yes, and for surveillance.
[Gra**ley]
OK. Does the FBI have any agreement with any other agencies--let me suggest a couple, there might be others: DoD and Homeland Security--to receive a**istance in the use of drones?
[Mueller]
I'm not certain. I don't think so. But whenever...well...all I'm saying is that one of the issues with drones, by any agency is, what happens in the airspace, so to the extent that it relates to the airspace, there would be some communication back and forth.
[Gra**ley]
So instead of asking a question, I think I can a**ume, since you do use drones, that the FBI has developed a set of policies, procedures, and operational limits on the use of drones, and whether or not [there's] any privacy impact on American citizens.
[Mueller]
We are in the initial stages of doing that, and I will tell you that our footprint is very small. We have very few and of limited use, and we're exploring not only the use but also the necessary guidelines for that use.
[Gra**ley]
Does the FBI use drones for surveillance on American soil?
[Mueller]
Yes.
[Senator Dianne Feinstein]
If people are concerned about privacy, I think the greatest threat to the privacy of Americans is the drone, and the use of the drone; and the very few regulations that are on it today; and the booming industry of commercial drones. You mention that you use it for surveillance. What are the privacy strictures on the use of drones by your agency today?
[Mueller]
Well, it's very seldom used and generally used in a particular incident where you need the capability. I will have to go back and check in terms of, what we keep, in terms of the images and the like. But it is very narrowly focused on particularized cases and particularized needs and particularized cases, and that is the principal privacy limitations we have.