Remote Drone Identification

• FAA Drone ID Rulemaking |
• What the FAA Drone ID Rule Should Include |
• EPIC's Work |
• News

The FAA's Proposed Rule on the Remote Identification of Drones

The FAA published a notice of proposed rule making that would require drone manufacturers to make their drones capable of remote identification. The proposal has two categories for remote identification: standard remote identificaiton and limited remote identification.

Standard remote identification requires the drone to broadcast identification and location information directly from the drone while also sending the same information via an internet connect to a service supplier known as a Remote ID USS that would collect and store the identificaiton and location information real-time. The Remote ID USS will be required to retain the information for a minimal of 6 months.

Limited remote identifcation only requires the identification and location information to be sent to the Remote ID USS via an internetion connection. There is no requirement for the broadcasting of the information. According to the FAA, drones with a limited remote identification requirement will be designed to fly no more than 400 feet away from the operator.

The proposed rule states that the broadcasted ID information will be considered public information and it will be possible for any individual to receive the broadcasted remote ID information. Although FAA's proposed rule only commits to helping law enforcement and Federal security partners obtain the remote ID information in real-time.

What the Drone ID Requirement Should Include:

• A requirement for ALL drones to broadcast ID information
• A specific and easily accessible means for the public to obtain the broadcast ID information of drones in their vicinity in real-time (e.g. an app on a smartphone)
• A requirement that the broadcasted ID information include the capabilities and specifications of the surveillance equipment on the drone

EPIC's Drone Work

• EPIC's Lawsuits
• EPIC v. Drone Advisory Committee (Challenging the Drone Advisory Committee's Failure to Release Records and Open All Meetings)
• EPIC v. DHS (Drone Policies)
• EPIC's Comments to the FAA
• Small Unmanned Aircraft Registration System (sUAS) (July 8, 2019)
• Requests for Comments; Clearance of a Renewed Approval of Information Collection: B4UFLY Smartphone App (May 13, 2019)
• Safe and Secure Operations of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (Apr. 15, 2019)
• Operation of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Over People (Apr. 15, 2019)
• External Marking Requirement for Small Unmanned Aircraft (Mar. 15, 2019)
• Clarification of the Applicability of Aircraft Registration Requirements for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) and Request for Information Regarding Electronic Registration for UAS (Nov. 12, 2015)
• EPIC's Statements to Congress
• Statement re: Senate hearing on Drone Security: Enhancing Innovation and Mitigating Supply Chain Risks (June 18, 2019)
• Statement re: Senate hearing on New Entrants in the National Airspace: Policy, Technology, and Security Issues for Congress (May 6, 2019)
• Statement re: House hearing on Department of Transportation Budget Request for Fiscal Year 2020 (Apr. 9, 2019)

News

• Katy Stech Ferek, Interior Department Adopts Restrictions Aimed at Chinese Drones Wall Street Journal (Jan. 29, 2020)
• Daniel Howley, Elaine Chao: We still haven’t identified operators of mystery drones in Colorado and Nebraska, Yahoo Finance (Jan. 24, 2020)
• Brett Tingley, Surveillance Plane Joins Intensifying Hunt For Mystery Drones Over Colorado And Nebraska, The Drive (Jan. 8, 2020)
• Aila Slisco, Police Unable to Explain a Band of Mysterious Drones Flying Over Colorado Newsweek (Dec. 24, 2019)
• Allison Lampert, Amid privacy backlash, China's DJI unveils drone-to-phone tracking, Reuters (Nov. 13, 2019)