Written by Emanuele Bussagli, Francesco Giannelli, Vasiliki Psychogiou, Carlotta Viaggio

In the last decades, drones have become quite famous: they can be seen doing a wide variety of actions, from taking spectacular aerial photographs and high-definition videos to counter-terrorism missions. Drones’ low procurement cost, according to the United Nations (UN), is facilitating their quick proliferation. Their compact size and precise skills make them more likely to be weaponised and deployed surreptitiously by state and non-state actors in violation of transparency and accountability rules.