Another potential roadblock for UAS integration in the USA
As I watch the UA story in America unfold from afar the more it seems to be like a game show. Phil from The Amazing Race has just thrown up another potential roadblock for the teams.
Last Thursday the Senate Appropriations Committee approved the 2014 transportation funding bill which asks that the FAA is to stop the rule making process until privacy concerns have been addressed.
This process is expected to take at least one year. It first has to pass through the Senate and House.
I have said it before if you want to start in the UA industry and you are from the USA probably best to move overseas. Your ideas will not be subject to ITAR and a viable commercial market exists.
Lets hope test site selection continues in parallel with this process along with all the other bits and pieces other countries seem to have managed more than 5 years ago.
Look out 2047 here we come. After the break scenes from next weeks episode.
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/
The development of unmanned aerial systems [UAS] offers benefits in a wide variety of applications, including law enforcement and border patrol, precision agriculture, wildfire mapping, weather monitoring, oil and gas exploration, disaster management, and aerial imaging. The UAS industry also presents an opportunity for substantial domestic job growth.
The FAA is taking important steps toward integrating UAS into the national airspace, including implementing a UAS test site program to help the agency gather critical safety data.The expanded use of UAS also presents the FAA with significant challenges. The Committee is concerned that, without adequate safeguards, expanded use of UAS by both governmental and nongovernmental entities will pose risks to individuals’ privacy.
The FAA has recognized the importance of addressing privacy concerns by requiring that UAS test sites have privacy policies in place before test flights begin. However, as the FAA looks to integrate UAS into the national airspace, a more comprehensive approach to privacy may be warranted. The United States Constitution, Federal, and various State privacy laws apply to the operation of UAS, but in consideration of the rapid advancement of technology in this area, the Committee questions whether current laws offer sufficient protections to adequately protect individuals.
FAA’s oversight and regulatory authority over the national airspace places the agency in a position to work with other agencies on addressing privacy concerns. To that end, the Committee directs the FAA to collaborate with other Federal agencies in evaluating the impact that broader use of UAS in the national airspace could have on individual privacy.
Furthermore, the Committee includes bill language that prohibits the FAA from issuing final regulations on the integration of UAS into the national airspace until the Secretary submits a report detailing the results of such collaboration. The Committee expects this report to address the application of existing privacy law to governmental and non-governmental entities; identify gaps in existing law, especially with regard to the use and retention of personally identifiable information by both governmental and non-governmental entities; and recommend next steps in how the FAA or other Federal agencies can address the impact of widespread use of UAS on individual privacy. The Committee directs the FAA to submit this report to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations not later than 1 year after enactment of this act.
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