Developing Criteria for Invasion of Privacy by Personal Drone

Recently, concerns have increased over careless accidents and invasion of privacy caused by drones, in proportion to the growth of the consumer drone market. Accordingly, some countries including the US and Japan, and in Europe are establishing regulations and guidelines for drones aviation. However, the rules primarily concern aviation safety, and define broad criteria for invasion of privacy. Lack of specific criteria for invasion of privacy has caused disputes continually. Furthermore, fear of invasion of privacy led some people to take strong measures against drones. In this paper, we conduct a survey on image identifiability determined by resolution, and propose criteria on invasion of privacy induced by aerial drone filming. Based on the criteria, we calculate the range of distance and height where drone-induced invasion of privacy may be prevented. Our research may provide a basis for substantive legal criteria that constitute invasion of privacy, and for preventing disputes related to invasion of privacy.