Florida Senator Ashley Moody introduced the Drone Espionage Act which would make it a federal crime to take unauthorized videos of U.S. military installations.
The Republican Senator’s legislation indicates that with the advent of drone technology and the rise in adversarial drones flying over military installations, more action is needed. Currently it is not a federal crime under the Espionage Act of 1917 to take unauthorized videos of U.S. military installations.
The legislation updates the Espionage Act of 1917 to include videography of sensitive national defense sites as a crime and would strengthen current authorities to hold individuals who seek to threaten our national defense accountable. Senator Moody was joined by Senators Ted Budd, Tom Cotton, Mike Lee, Bernie Moreno and Thom Tillis. Representative Jen Kiggans introduced bipartisan companion legislation in the House of Representatives.
“Florida is home to 21 military installations and three combatant commands—it is imperative we keep our bases protected and secure,” Senator Ashley Moody said. “I am fighting to modernize our laws to meet this technological advance and protect our nation against bad actors wishing to collect intelligence on American soil. As I have pointed out before, with the introduction of my Stop CCP Visas Act, adversaries are always looking for new ways to steal information. The Drone Espionage Act is yet another tool we can add to our toolbox to prevent our enemies from spying on us right here at home.”
There have been several documented cases from recent years that underscore the vital importance of this legislation, including but not limited to:
- In Newport News, Virginia (where the U.S. Navy has a massive presence), a PRC national was convicted after flying a drone with a camera over a naval shipyard. He was a student at the University of Minnesota.
- In February 2025, a Canadian man was charged with using an unmanned aircraft to photograph Patrick Space Force Base.
- In November 2024, a Chinese citizen living in Los Angeles was charged and sentenced for flying a drone over Vandenberg Space Force Base and taking images.
- In June of 2020, three Chinese nationals were sentenced for illegal imagery at U.S. Naval Air Station in Key West, Florida.
Senator Ashley Moody has also been voicing concerns regarding a People’s Republic of China law requiring Chinese nationals to assist the CCP in intelligence gathering. Earlier this Congress, the Florida Senator introduced the Stop CCP Visas Act to crack down on espionage and information collection for adversarial purposes occurring on college campuses.
