Individual privacy concerns about UAVs are in the spotlight at AUVSI 2013 as the Aerospace States Association (ASA) unveils a list of preliminary considerations for states working through legislation on implementing the vehicles.
"Last year when Congress mandated that the Federal Aviation Administration create a plan to integrate UAS in the national airspace. I don't think anyone anticipated that their progress could be so long delayed by widespread concern over privacy rights," says Alaska's Lt Governor Mead Treadwell, ASA's chairman.
The list, addressed at a roundtable yesterday, includes six points for states to consider when implementing UAS. Among them is the consideration to require warrants for individual surveillance when the person is targeted in advance without permission. The ASA also asks states to consider prohibiting the use of data captured from surveillance without warrants for other purposes. It also asks states to consider prohibiting UAS from carrying weapons in commercial airspace.
Treadwell points out the benefits of UAS for applications such as agriculture and search and rescue missions, and says that the recommendations are designed to give "informed, thoughtful and balanced references" to states as they implement new laws about UAV use.
"The paper we're releasing today I believe strikes a fine balance between protecting individual privacy rights as guaranteed by the Fourth Amendment, and exploiting the significant economic and humanitarian benefits of UAS technology," says the lieutenant governor.
Four states have implemented legislation on UAS integration so far, and it is pending in 35 other states, says Treadwell, who serves as the ASA's chairman.
The association worked with the Council of State Governments and National Conference of State Legislatures on drafting the recommendations.
Source: Flight Daily News