Drone drones privacy UAV unmanned aerial vehicles
Federal Judge Rules Commercial Drones Legal
A federal judge has ruled that commercial drones are legal, stating that the Federal Aviation Administration has not issued an enforceable regulatory rule that governs commercial drone operation. The FAA plans to appeal the decision. In 2012, Congress told the Agency to implement a plan to integrate drones into the National Airspace by 2015. Shortly after, EPIC joined by over 100 other organizations, experts, and members of the public petitioned the FAA to address privacy as part of the integration. As a result, the Agency published a notice with proposed privacy requirements for drone operators. EPIC submitted comments in response to the notice, urging the Agency to mandate minimum privacy standards for drone operators. After considering numerous public comments on the privacy impact of aerial drones, the FAA proposed a regulation that requires test site operators to develop privacy policies but does not require any specific baseline privacy protections. Several states have passed drone privacy laws and bills are also pending in Congress. For more information, see EPIC: Domestic Drones.