There are some red flags in the Department of Transportation’s new proposal to lift certain restrictions on drones, according to Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass.
The proposal would allow drones to fly at night and over populated areas without a waiver. Markey is urging for the implementation of strong privacy protections before the new rules are finalized.
“Privacy cannot be an afterthought as the FAA seeks to make it easier and safer for commercial drones to take flight,” Markey said in a statement this month after the Federal Aviation Administration proposed its new rule. “Drones have the capability to collect treasure troves of sensitive personal information using technologies like facial recognition and automated license plate readers, yet the FAA has failed to establish any baseline privacy protections, despite its obligation to integrate drones into the national airspace.”
The senator has introduced a bill, the Drone Aircraft Privacy and Transparency Act, “to protect the public from these potential flying spies in the skies.”
The legislation would require the secretary of the Department of Transportation to “establish procedures to ensure that the integration of unmanned aircraft systems into the national airspace system is done in compliance with the privacy principles.” It also bars government entities from obtaining information from an unmanned aircraft system — or asking for information retrieved by an unmanned aircraft system — for “protective activities, or for law enforcement or intelligence purposes,” unless an appropriate warrant is issued.
Some provisions of the Drone Aircraft Privacy and Transparency Act were inserted into the FAA Reauthorization Act that was signed into law last year, including a requirement that orders the FAA to establish a publicly available website where drone operators must disclose if they collect someone’s personal information. Drone operators are also required to share how the information will be used and when it will be destroyed.
The proposed FAA rule was unveiled earlier this month by Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, who claimed that the agency is attempting to prevent drones from hindering other aircraft and to promote safety.
“This will help communities reap the considerable economic benefits of this growing industry and help our country remain a global technology leader,” Chao said in a speech to the nonprofit Transportation Research Board in Washington, D.C.
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The proposed rule notes that, of the 1,200 waivers issued to drone operators for flying drones at night, none resulted in any reported drone accidents in 2017. The proposal would alleviate the need for waivers, but drone operators would need “an anti-collision light illuminated and visible for at least 3 statute miles.”
Similarly, drones weighing under 0.55 lbs would be able to fly over people, provided they meet certain requirements. Drones that are over that weight would be required to demonstrate that if the drone collided with a person the damage would “be below a certain severity threshold.”
Chao acknowledged the the agency is “keenly aware that there are legitimate public concerns about drones concerning safety, security, and privacy,” and also announced that the FAA would be accepting comments from the public regarding drone safety and security issues.
The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International and DJI, a company that produces consumer and commercial drones, welcomed Chao’s proposal, and both intend to submit responses during the 60-day comment period. According to Brendan Schulman, vice president of policy and legal affairs at DJI, “everyone benefits when it is easier for professionals to safely fly over people and at night.”
Brent Skorup, a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, said the proposal indicates that the FAA is becoming more familiar with drones as the industry continues to develop.
“It’s a signal that the FAA and the industry are more comfortable with the issues surrounding drones,” Skorup said.
The proposal also comes as companies such as Amazon are looking to utilize drones in delivering packages. Skorup said other countries have moved ahead of the U.S. in this field — Switzerland, for example, has started to deploy drones for medical purposes.
“There’s all these experiments out there, and again, it’s just a sign to the FAA — with the right guardrails — that this could be a useful commercial sector,” Skorup said.
