Public fights over government drones are heating up across California, and a North Bay settlement is now a reference point.
The Sonoma County case
The ACLU Foundation of Northern California sued Sonoma County in June 2025 on behalf of three residents, alleging that code enforcement inspectors used low-flying drones — launched in a program to target unpermitted rural cannabis grows — to record homes, fenced yards, pools and hot tubs without warrants. Under the settlement, according to the ACLU:
- Code enforcement is barred from warrantless drone surveillance of homes and surrounding areas, except in limited situations such as emergencies or owner consent.
- Permit Sonoma must notify residents whose homes were surveilled.
- Footage must be deleted 30 days after collection, or 30 days after an investigation closes.
- The county must present a revised drone policy to supervisors and give the ACLU flight logs for two years.
The statewide pushback
CalMatters reports police in San Francisco, Berkeley, Santa Ana and Stockton are looking to drones as potential "first responders," and a 2021 state law requires public approval of military equipment including drones. At a packed San Francisco Police Commission meeting this month, privacy advocates urged a warrant requirement; commissioners advanced SFPD's policy to labor negotiations without one.
California lacks a comprehensive statute on police drone use, leaving cities to navigate Fourth Amendment case law, drone policy attorney Katie Inman told CalMatters.