Drones

On Sunday, the White House released a memorandum that outlines privacy protections that federal agencies must take when they use drones, and directs the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to work with the private sector to establish voluntary privacy practices for commercial drone use.

The White House issued the memorandum…
Continue Reading White House Releases Drone Privacy Memorandum

The Federal Aviation Administration will allow CNN to test the use of drones in news gathering under a research agreement that will study how drones can be used safely and effectively by news organizations.

While the FAA has granted limited exemptions for commercial drone use in controlled settings, such as…
Continue Reading FAA Grants CNN Permission to Test Drones in News Gathering

The Federal Aviation Administration this week granted exemptions for the use of drones by a real estate firm in Arizona and a crop monitoring company in Washington state, further loosening the agency’s strict ban on the commercial use of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS).

The exemption granted to Douglas Trudeau of …
Continue Reading FAA Grants Drone Exemptions for Real Estate, Agricultural Use

Members of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure pushed the FAA on Wednesday, December 10, to accelerate integration of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) into U.S. airspace, expressing concern that regulators in other countries are ahead of the FAA in permitting safe UAS use, setting back economic development in the …

Continue Reading House Committee Turns Up Heat on FAA in UAS Hearing

Individuals who operate drones are subject to FAA regulations that prohibit careless and reckless operation of an aircraft, the National Transportation Safety Board ruled on November 18, 2014.  In reaching its conclusion, the NTSB overturned a closely watched ruling by an administrative law judge, who previously held that regulations for …
Continue Reading FAA Can Regulate and Fine Drone Operators, the NTSB Says

As reported in the press, President Obama plans to issue an Executive Order authorizing the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (“NTIA”) to coordinate the development of privacy guidelines for commercial drone operations.  More specifically, we understand that NTIA would coordinate a “multi-stakeholder process” — a procedure used previously…
Continue Reading Executive Order on Drone Privacy

Well, that was fast. Yesterday, we predicted that “the FAA may have something to say” about a series of videos posted online showing fireworks displays filmed from drones, often flying within the sweep of the exploding shells. A few hours later, the FAA released a statement to the Palm Beach…
Continue Reading Update: Drone Fireworks Videos “Under Investigation” by the FAA

Dramatic videos posted over the holiday weekend show fireworks displays that were filmed from drones.  The videos are remarkable, with the drones often flying within the sweep of the exploding shells.  Burning fireworks frequently zoom past the cameras.  We found drone fireworks videos from Decatur, Ga., Lake Martin,…
Continue Reading July 4th Puts the FAA Drone Policy to the Test

On Tuesday, June 10, 2014, the Federal Aviation Administration announced that it had authorized the first commercial drone operation over land in the United States.  The approval permits energy company BP to operate drones to survey pipelines, roads, and equipment at the oilfield at Prudhoe Bay, along the north Arctic…
Continue Reading The FAA’s Commercial Drone Approval is Significant, but Bigger Issues Remain