The best practices draft is the result of President Obama's Feb. 15, 2015 order instructing the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to convene a multi-stakeholder group to develop voluntary best practices for privacy, accountability and transparency regarding drone use (14 PVLR 1327, 7/20/15).
Stakeholders that supported the best practices draft include Amazon.com Inc., Center for Democracy and Technology, Consumer Technology Association and Online Trust Alliance, among others.
According to the draft, some of the best practices go beyond existing law and they aren't intended to create binding legal standards of care. The voluntary standards apply to data collected by both commercial and non-commercial drones, but don't apply to news gatherers and news reporting organizations.
“Newsgatherers and news reporting organizations may use UAS in the same manner as any other comparable technology to capture, store, retain and use data or images in public spaces,” the document said.
The best practices draft recommended that drone operators should make “reasonable effort” to provide notice to potential data subjects and inform them of the kinds of data collected. Further, operators should minimize drone operations over private properties and limit the use and sharing of the data, the draft said.
INTRODUCTION:
The benefits of commercial and private unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) are substantial. Technology has moved forward rapidly, and what used to be considered toys are quickly becoming powerful commercial tools that can provide enormous benefits in terms of safety and efficiency. UAS integration will have a significant positive economic impact in the United States. Whether UAS are performing search and rescue missions, allowing farmers to be more efficient and environmentally friendly, inspecting power lines and cell towers, gathering news and enhancing the public’s access to information, performing aerial photography to sell real estate and provide insurance services, surveying and mapping areas for public policy, delivering medicine to rural locations, providing wireless internet, enhancing construction site safety, or more— society is only just beginning to realize the full potential of UAS. UAS technology is already bringing substantial benefits to people’s daily lives, including cheaper goods, innovative services, safer infrastructure, recreational uses, and greater economic activity. Inevitably, creative minds will devise many more UAS uses that will save lives, save money and make our society more productive.
However, the very characteristics that make UAS so promising for commercial and non- commercial uses, including their small size, maneuverability and capacity to carry various kinds of recording or sensory devices, can raise privacy concerns. As a result, individuals may be apprehensive about the adoption of this technology into everyday life. In order to ensure that UAS and the exciting possibilities that come with them live up to their full potential, operators should use this technology in a responsible, ethical, and respectful way. This should include a commitment to transparency, privacy and accountability.
The purpose of this document is to outline and describe voluntary Best Practices that UAS operators could take to advance UAS privacy, transparency and accountability for the private and commercial use of UAS.1 UAS operators may implement these Best Practices in a variety of ways, depending on their circumstances and technology uses, and evolving privacy expectations. In some cases, these Best Practices are meant to go beyond existing law and they do not—and are not meant to—create a legal standard of care by which the activities of any particular UAS operator should be judged.
CLICK TO READ FULL DRAFT DOCUMENT
Stakeholders that supported the best practices draft include Amazon.com Inc., Center for Democracy and Technology, Consumer Technology Association and Online Trust Alliance, among others.
According to the draft, some of the best practices go beyond existing law and they aren't intended to create binding legal standards of care. The voluntary standards apply to data collected by both commercial and non-commercial drones, but don't apply to news gatherers and news reporting organizations.
“Newsgatherers and news reporting organizations may use UAS in the same manner as any other comparable technology to capture, store, retain and use data or images in public spaces,” the document said.
The best practices draft recommended that drone operators should make “reasonable effort” to provide notice to potential data subjects and inform them of the kinds of data collected. Further, operators should minimize drone operations over private properties and limit the use and sharing of the data, the draft said.
INTRODUCTION:
The benefits of commercial and private unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) are substantial. Technology has moved forward rapidly, and what used to be considered toys are quickly becoming powerful commercial tools that can provide enormous benefits in terms of safety and efficiency. UAS integration will have a significant positive economic impact in the United States. Whether UAS are performing search and rescue missions, allowing farmers to be more efficient and environmentally friendly, inspecting power lines and cell towers, gathering news and enhancing the public’s access to information, performing aerial photography to sell real estate and provide insurance services, surveying and mapping areas for public policy, delivering medicine to rural locations, providing wireless internet, enhancing construction site safety, or more— society is only just beginning to realize the full potential of UAS. UAS technology is already bringing substantial benefits to people’s daily lives, including cheaper goods, innovative services, safer infrastructure, recreational uses, and greater economic activity. Inevitably, creative minds will devise many more UAS uses that will save lives, save money and make our society more productive.
However, the very characteristics that make UAS so promising for commercial and non- commercial uses, including their small size, maneuverability and capacity to carry various kinds of recording or sensory devices, can raise privacy concerns. As a result, individuals may be apprehensive about the adoption of this technology into everyday life. In order to ensure that UAS and the exciting possibilities that come with them live up to their full potential, operators should use this technology in a responsible, ethical, and respectful way. This should include a commitment to transparency, privacy and accountability.
The purpose of this document is to outline and describe voluntary Best Practices that UAS operators could take to advance UAS privacy, transparency and accountability for the private and commercial use of UAS.1 UAS operators may implement these Best Practices in a variety of ways, depending on their circumstances and technology uses, and evolving privacy expectations. In some cases, these Best Practices are meant to go beyond existing law and they do not—and are not meant to—create a legal standard of care by which the activities of any particular UAS operator should be judged.
CLICK TO READ FULL DRAFT DOCUMENT
