Once a new technology has taken hold — and few would argue that this hasn’t happened with commercial drones — there is no going back. The question is: How do we go forward in a way that achieves balance for the community as a whole?
That is the task still before the Federal Aviation Administration, which recently released its first operational rules for the routine commercial use of small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), better known as drones. Among the issues still unresolved is avoiding constant clashes with privacy rights.
Known as the “Part 107” requirements, the rules are seen as a relaxation of the regulatory stance on the flying remotely controlled devices.
They already have been in use for applications ranging from wedding photography to surveillance of hazardous zones such as lava flows.
The University of Hawaii at Hilo gained an FAA permit for the latter example; much of the former activity has been conducted illegally, because the pilot licensing requirements previously were difficult and costly.
Part 107 will allow users age 16 or older to obtain a “remote pilot certificate” once they pay a $150 fee and have passed a test on aeronautical knowledge at an FAA-approved center. Alternatively, a drone can be operated if someone holding the certificate is directly supervising.
According to the agency release, the FAA also will offer a process to obtain a waiver from some restrictions if the operator proves the proposed flight will be conducted safely. An online portal will be available to apply for these waivers.
It would seem the federal agency wants to make things very easy, but in the absence of adequate privacy safeguards, the public has a right to feel some concern.
The rules will take effect in late August, when safety regulations will govern unmanned aircraft drones weighing less than 55 pounds that are conducting “non-hobbyist” operations.
According to the announcement, the FAA “does not regulate how UAS gather data on people or property,” and that “the FAA is acting to address privacy considerations in this area.”
It also “strongly encourages all UAS pilots to check local and state laws before gathering information through remote sensing technology or photography.”
There is a dearth of such regulation on the local level, at least in Hawaii.
Over the past legislative session, six separate bills addressing the protection of individual privacy in the drone era were in the hopper; none made it past first reading.
FAA officials are correct in the observation that it is concerned with the regulation of safety, not privacy. But at a minimum, the FAA must follow through on pledges to provide a robust educational program on privacy rights before issuing certificates.
Congressional and state lawmakers should move to lay down the framework of further protections without undue delay.
Drones are projected to generate more than
$82 billion for the U.S. economy, according to the FAA, which has a role to play in seeing that society doesn’t pay too high a price for that boon.
