On Monday, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued
rules that will allow small drones to fly over people and at night in the
United States and mandate remote identification technology for nearly all
drones.
The rules eliminate requirements that drones, known formally
as unmanned aerial vehicles, be connected to the Internet to transmit location
data but requires them to broadcast remote ID messages via radio frequency
broadcast.
"This approach creates barriers to compliance and will
have unintended negative privacy impacts for businesses and consumers,"
Wing said Thursday in a blog post, adding "an observer tracking a drone
can infer sensitive information about specific users, including where they
visit, spend time, and live and where customers receive packages from and
when."
Wing added that "American communities would not accept
this type of surveillance of their deliveries or taxi trips on the road. They
should not accept it in the sky."
Wing called on the FAA to expand ways operators can comply
with ID requirements.
The FAA said Thursday it received and addressed "more
than 50,000 public comments on the proposed remote-identification rule, which
will further the safe integration of drones into the national airspace
system."
The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International
said Remote ID will function as "a digital license plate for drones."
Drone manufacturers will have 18 months to begin producing
drones with Remote ID, and operators will have an additional year to provide
Remote ID.
Wing argues Internet-based tracking "allows a drone to
be identified as it flies over without necessarily sharing that drone's
complete flight path or flight history."
Chinese drone maker SZ DJI Technology said this week it
"has long supported the FAA's Remote ID initiative because it will enhance
drone accountability, safety and security... We are reviewing the final rule to
understand how DJI can take steps towards complying with the FAA's upcoming
requirements."
©Reuters
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