FAA Limits Drones Over DHS Assets, Igniting Civil Liberties Concerns

News media coalition calls restriction the ‘most sweeping prohibition’ on UAS activity in U.S. history.

Jack Daleo

Friday, January 30, 2026 at 03:00 PM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

Temporary flight restriction (TFR) prohibits drones from flying within 1,000 feet vertically and 3,000 feet laterally of Department of Homeland Security ‘mobile assets.’ [Credit: iStock]

Key Takeaways:

A new FAA temporary flight restriction (TFR) has been imposed, creating broad and ambiguous "no-drone zones" around Department of Homeland Security (DHS) "mobile assets" (e.g., convoys), which critics call a "sweeping prohibition" on drone activity.
News organizations, the ACLU, and former FAA officials are alarmed by the TFR's lack of clear boundaries, describing it as a "roving, invisible bubble" that makes it nearly impossible for drone operators to know if they are in violation.
Opponents argue the TFR infringes upon First and Fifth Amendment rights, particularly regarding newsgathering and airspace use, and could severely impact commercial, public safety, and journalistic drone operations, with potential for legal challenges.

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News organizations, advocacy groups including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and even former FAA officials are sounding the alarm on what could be the “most sweeping prohibition on UAS [uncrewed aircraft system] activity across the United States ever imposed.”

That is how the News Media Coalition—which includes the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Getty Images, National Press Photographers Association, and publishers of major newspapers such as the New York Times and Washington Post—described an FAA temporary flight restriction (TFR) that penalizes the operation of drones, including those used for newsgathering, near Department of Homeland Security (DHS) “mobile assets.”