Tell the FAA: Don’t Ground Good Drones!

(Source: xeff.org)  

EFF has long warned against the dangers of warrantless drone use by law enforcement, as well as the dangers to privacy posed by private use of drones. Those dangers are still real, and we will continue to defend against them.

But like any technology, drones can be used for good as well as evil. There are plenty of uses for drones that don’t affect people’s privacy and that are beneficial for society. For example, journalists can use drones to get a unique perspective on public events (especially when a news helicopter would be too expensive or take too long to deploy). Teachers can use them for educational purposes, by providing kids a fun way to experiment with and learn about technology. And of course drones can be used for photography, taking pictures for everything from real estate to art. They can even be used in Shakespeare!

Take action now: tell the FAA not to ground good drones!

Unfortunately it may be a long time before any of these privacy-neutral, positive uses realize their full potential in the US. That’s because the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has proposed restrictive regulations [PDF] that would force researchers, educators, artists, environmentalists, and journalists to jump through bureaucratic hoops before they can fly their drones, without any corresponding increase in safety or privacy for the general public.

What’s Wrong With the FAA’s Proposed Rules

The first major problem with the FAA’s proposed regulations is that they don’t even pay lip service to the privacy implications of widespread drone use. According to the FAA, “privacy concerns have been raised about unmanned aircraft operations”, but “these issues are beyond the scope of this rulemaking.”

And there’s another major problem: the rules reflect the FAA’s bizarre obsession with the difference between “hobby and recreational” use and all other use. This distinction means that for the most part, the new rules don’t apply to you as long as you fly your drone purely for fun. The second your flight implicates any non-“hobby” use, however (such as selling photos you took via drone, or providing footage from your drone to a news organization, or even just posting the video to YouTube yourself) then some overzealous FAA bureaucrat may try to subject you to a $10,000 fine. Given the proposed rules, this strange distinction puts many beneficial uses of drones at risk.

Continue Reading at eff.org…