It is the authors opinion that ADS-B is a 4th amendment violation. The 4th amendment of the U.S. Constitution states:

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“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”

 

This means that the government has to have probable cause to take your personal information. However in 2020 FAA said that in order to fly in certain airspace we demand the ability to track you full time. And if you fly outside of that airspace it does not matter once you install ADS-B it must be on full time no matter where you are.

 

This has had many negative ramifications to privacy, I do not have the time to get into here.

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You may say well.... flying is not a right.

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Our founder foresaw that the country would grow in unimaginable ways so they designed our constitution as a charter of negative liberties. In other words they spelled out what the government absolutely can not do and said the rest is fair game to the citizens of the United States. They further clarified this intent in the 10th amendment

 

“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”

 

So since flying was not mentioned it is a reserved power under the 10th amendment and is a right protected for the people.

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You might say: At least there will be a penalty right? If they misuse the information, they have to pay the consequences?

 

As of this writing it is on the honor system…there is not criminal or civil penalty for the misuse, or storage of all YOUR information in databases….

 

It is incumbent that each American take it upon themselves to learn our rights that so many have fought and died to give us. And when necessary exercise our first amendment rights “to petition the Government for a redress of grievances”

 

“Freedom is a fragile thing and it's never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by way of inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation, for it comes only once to a people.  And those in world history who have known freedom and then lost it have never known it again.” January 5, 1967: Inaugural Address Ronald Reagan

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