FAA Drone Advisory Committee to Dive Deeper Into Privacy Responsibilities
Members of the Federal Aviation Administration 35-member Drone Advisory Committee said Friday that DAC will take a deeper dive into privacy issues for unmanned aircraft and related pre-emption of state and local laws, after a considerable debate emerged. The committee, which held its inaugural meeting in Washington, was formed to give recommendations to the FAA on safely integrating drones into the national airspace. The daylong meeting featured discussions about certification, drones operating beyond visual line of sight, performance standards, cybersecurity and spectrum.
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Privacy was heavily discussed by members, including San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee and Robert Boyd, a Riley County, Kansas, commissioner. Both said localities need more guidance on privacy. "We need some kind of methodology for common regulations going forward," said Boyd, representing the National Association of Counties. "That may be a menu of regulations that a community wants to adopt, but we do need something in there."
Intel CEO Brian Krzanich, who chairs the committee, told us early in the meeting that the DAC "absolutely could" make some recommendations on that topic despite the FAA's stance it doesn't regulate privacy. During the debate on privacy, Administrator Michael Huerta said the FAA doesn't really "regulate anything" for drone use. "We regulated only for its safety," he said. "That's an important thing to understand." That stance prompted the Electronic Privacy Information Center in August to sue, claiming the FAA shirked its duty in developing privacy rules for drones (see 1608260020).
Lee, representing the U.S Conference of Mayors, told us about an incident three months ago -- a story he also told the committee -- when a drone with a camera was hovering outside his office window, crashed on his balcony and was confiscated by police. "That incident gave me personal insight into what some people might call invasion of privacy," he said.
"The question is how do you protect people's privacy if the federal government is going to pre-empt this?" asked Lee. He said he favored some more guidance from the FAA beyond voluntary privacy best practices released this summer through an NTIA-multistakeholder process (see 1605190007 and 1605200048). He also raised concerns about who enforces such rules since constituents won't look to the FAA but to their local governments and police departments.
Brendan Schulman, vice president-policy and legal affairs for drone maker DJI, said there's a strong relationship between pre-emption and privacy concerns. There are more than 280 state bills on drones and that doesn't count counties and cities with proposed statutes -- and that may mean more education about FAA rules and safely operating drones, he said. The topic should be a top priority for the group, he said.
Survey results presented during the meeting said privacy, safety and reliability topped committee members' concerns when it came to public perceptions. Al Secen, DAC secretary and RTCA vice president-aviation technology and standards, said the survey isn't scientific but was designed to gain insight into members' priorities. He said "there is a bit of consensus" among the various academic, public sector and industry stakeholders "that they have a bead on what the public is concerned about and feel that they can answer the question and keep the public engaged." He said the committee needs to validate that these are the public's concerns.
Early in the meeting, Huerta said the government “intentionally” brought distinct cultures together to form DAC, but it was the committee’s job to put together its own to-do list. “Your job is to put your heads together and discuss the things that are most important to the industry as a whole,” including what to consider and what questions to ask, he said. RTCA President Margaret Jenny, who led the meeting, said a committee charged with coming up with its own to-do list is "a little bit unprecedented." But she said the committee shouldn't launch into anything the FAA hasn't asked for, "because it may not go anywhere."