Drone Privacy: EPIC v. FAA Tossed by D.C. Circuit Court

The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) has been doing battle with the FAA over drone privateness since 2012, however suffered a loss this week.   The D.C. Circuit (the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit) rejected EPIC’s petition to evaluation FAA’s small drone rule, “finding the nonprofit lacked standing to mount a challenge over the exclusion of privacy safeguards,” experiences Regulation360. “The three-judge panel said in a unanimous decision that EPIC failed to show how its members or the organization itself would be injured by the rules…”

EPIC first addressed the difficulty by presenting the FAA with a petition in 2012, asking that the FAA set up privateness protections as a part of drone rules.  FAA, nonetheless, didn’t handle the group’s issues: “In 2014, the FAA responded to EPIC’s petition, claiming that drone privacy implications “did not raise an immediate safety concern.”” says an EPIC background piece.  The FAA indicated that the group’s issues could be addressed within the remaining rule.  “But in 2015 when the FAA announced a rulemaking on commercial drones, the agency purposefully ignored privacy concerns, stating that privacy “issues are beyond the scope of this rulemaking,”” stated EPIC.

What adopted had been two lawsuits.  The first was rejected by the D.C. Circuit which dominated that EPIC was “premature” in difficult the Small Drone Rulemaking, which had not but been handed.  When the rule was finalized in 2016, EPIC once more filed go well with.  This second go well with has now been rejected by the D.C. Circuit.

EPIC has additionally filed go well with towards the Drone Advisory Committee, in an effort to pressure them to open subcommittee conferences and make experiences out there to the general public.  “EPIC has also pursued several open government matters regarding the FAA’s decision making process, which appears intended to purposefully avoid the development of meaningful privacy safeguards,” says EPIC.

The company’s issues are that drones flying too excessive to be seen could also be performing surveillance: instigated by the federal government, industrial entities, or people.  “Drones are designed to undertake constant, persistent surveillance to a degree that former methods of video surveillance were unable to achieve.” says EPIC.

“…The increased use of drones poses an ongoing threat to every person residing within the United States.”

Miriam McNabb is the Editor-in-Chief of DRONELIFE and CEO of JobForDrones, knowledgeable drone companies market, and a fascinated observer of the rising drone trade and the regulatory setting for drones. Miriam has a level from the University of Chicago and over 20 years of expertise in excessive tech gross sales and advertising for brand spanking new applied sciences.
Email Miriam
TWITTER:@spaldingbarker



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