--- description: Nearly three quarters of respondents in a new poll said they want drones to be regulated. title: Americans Don’t Want Drones in Their Backyards image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt62f6bdad61be4a45/69877ddecd1bba77446f5121/533548903.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Tech](/tag/time-section-tech/) ## Tech Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # 3 Out of 4 Americans Want Drones to Be Regulated  by [Noah Rayman](/author/noah-rayman/)  ## Noah Rayman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 5, 2015 9:15 PM CUT  Beneath a Drone Beneath a DroneRichard Newstead—Getty Images/Moment RF  by [Noah Rayman](/author/noah-rayman/)  ## Noah Rayman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 5, 2015 9:15 PM CUT Nearly three quarters of respondents said they want lightweight, remote control planes [to be regulated according to a new poll ](http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/05/us-usa-drones-poll-idUSKBN0L91EE20150205 "undefined")that suggests widespread unease with the private and commercial use of drones. According to the online poll conducted by Reuters/Ipsos, 73% of respondents supported regulation for drones. Forty-six percent of respondents said they don’t want the media using drones for newsgathering, and 42% said they oppose private ownership altogether. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration is expected to soon publish draft regulations covering commercial drone use that will be open for review and won’t go into effect for at least several months. (See more: [My Drone Landed in Someone’s Yard—Is it Theirs Now?](http://time.com/3690076/drone-rules/ "undefined")) Private drone users have faced criticism for their vehicles’ potential to breach individuals’ privacy as well as for a series of [near misses ](http://time.com/3608494/faa-near-collisions-planes-drones/ "undefined")with aircraft and people. Last month–while the poll was being conducted–a private drone operated by a man who admitted he had been drinking [landed inside the White House grounds](http://time.com/3684517/drone-white-house-drunk/ "undefined"), triggering a lockdown at the White House. “In regular peoples’ hands, it’s easy for them to get misused,” one respondent said in the poll. But the poll found strong support for the use of drones in law enforcement. Over two-thirds (68%) of respondents said they support using drones to solve crimes, and 62% approved of their use to deter crime. ### Drone Country: See America From Above  House boats appear next to the shoreline of Bidwell Canyon on Lake Oroville in Northern California on November 25, 2014\. Lake Oroville is California's second largest reservoir, and is currently 70% empty as a result of the state's severe drought. Tomas van Houtryve—VII  Campers appear in an RV park in Fernley, Nevada on November 25, 2014\. The nearby Amazon Fulfillment Center recruits people living out of RVs to work on the floor of their warehouse during peak holiday shipping season. Many of the campers are senior citizens whose homes or savings were wiped out by the 2008 economic crisis. Tomas van Houtryve—VII  A parking lot for an Amazon fulfillment center appears in New Jersey on November 11, 2014. Tomas van Houtryve—VII/Pulitzer Center  A residential apartment complex appears in Poughkeepsie, New York on November 9, 2014. Tomas van Houtryve—VII/Pulitzer Center  Vacation homes appear on the New Jersey Shore on November 11, 2014. Tomas van Houtryve—VII/Pulitzer Center  An empty drive-in movie theater appears in Poughkeepsie, New York on November 9, 2014. Tomas van Houtryve—VII/Pulitzer Center  A farm house and field appear outside Trenton, New Jersey on November 11, 2014. Tomas van Houtryve—VII/Pulitzer Center  Cows gather for water and alfalfa distributed by a rancher in a drought-devastated pasture in Merced County, California on November 26, 2014\. As with many areas of the Central Valley of California, these cows would not be able to survive without this kind of supplemental nutrition. Tomas van Houtryve—VII  A run-down neighborhood appears in North Camden, New Jersey on November 23, 2014\. In 2012, the FBI ranked Camden as having the most violent crime per capita of any American city with a population of over 50,000\. The local police installed millions of dollars of surveillance equipment in residential neighborhoods, including cameras and microphones that detect the exact location of gunshots. Tomas van Houtryve—VII  Horse stalls appear near Fernley, Nevada on November 24, 2014. Tomas van Houtryve—VII  A swamp appears near Brookfield, Connecticut on November 8, 2014. Tomas van Houtryve—VII/Pulitzer Center  Beachfront vacation units appear on Cape Cod, Massachusetts on Nov. 7, 2014. Tomas van Houtryve—VII/Pulitzer Center  The USS New Jersey, a decommissioned battleship, appears on the Delaware river off Camden, New Jersey on November 23, 2014. Tomas van Houtryve—VII  A college campus appears in Poughkeepsie, New York on November 9, 2014. Tomas van Houtryve—VII/Pulitzer Center  Lacrosse players warm up before practice in Clark County, Nevada on January 20, 2014\. The nearby Creech Air Force is the main command center for overseas drone strikes. Tomas van Houtryve—VII/Pulitzer Center  Wiggins Park Marina appears in Camden, New Jersey on November 23, 2014. Tomas van Houtryve—VII ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3697958/drone-regulation-poll/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3697958/drone-regulation-poll/"},"headline":"3 Out of 4 Americans Want Drones to Be Regulated","datePublished":"2015-02-05T21:15:02.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:45:14.500Z","description":"42% said they didn't support any kind of private ownership of drones at all","url":"https://time.com/3697958/drone-regulation-poll/","keywords":["Tech","Transportation","Gadgets","Technology","Law","Drones"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt62f6bdad61be4a45/69877ddecd1bba77446f5121/533548903.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Noah Rayman","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/noah-rayman/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt62f6bdad61be4a45/69877ddecd1bba77446f5121/533548903.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"533548903","caption":"533548903","creditText":"Richard Newstead—Getty Images/Moment RF","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-tech/","name":"Tech"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3697958/drone-regulation-poll/","name":"3 Out of 4 Americans Want Drones to Be Regulated"}}]}] ```