Congress on Drones: Big Business Wins, Hobbyists Lose

(Source: motherboard.vice.com)  

The drones are coming, the drones are coming, the drones are here. But then again, they’ve always been here. Hobby use of model aircraft predates the Federal Aviation Administration and has never been regulated—don’t expect it to last.

I’ve been watching Congressional drone hearings for three years now, and I’ve noticed a gradual but distinct shift. In the past, it was “commercial drones are good, but privacy is complicated.” Drones used by companies to deliver packages, film movies, or survey crops were seen as a technology full of potential, but problematic to implement. Hobby drones flown for fun were ignored.

Well, politicians have found their scapegoat: Now, it’s “commercial drones are good, hobby drones are bad and dangerous and creeps might fly them.”

This is a dangerous development.

Granted, ​Tuesday’s hearing was in the Senate Commerce Committee, a body that has a vested interest in helping businesses get what they want, or at least in helping the economy grow.

But it also seems to me as though many of the lawmakers there have created three players: The safe, homegrown American business who is going to Create Jobs and Innovate; the drone small business owner who is going to pull him or herself up by his or her bootstraps; and your jackass creep neighbor who is going to spy on you sunbathing, fly their drones at jetliners, and fuck it up for everyone.

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