Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) accused the Obama administration on Thursday of “punting” on drone privacy issues as it considers a drastic expansion of the use of the technology alongside commercial flights.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is signaled it will likely miss a Sept. 30 deadline for putting regulations in place to allow a massive increase in nonmilitary drone use in the U.S. that was set by Congress in 2012.
Issa said during a hearing of the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet on Thursday that the FAA has also failed to put in place appropriate privacy protections for drones, even as the agency has released a draft of its proposed regulations.
“[Drones] represent a great opportunity. One that … six years ago, Ray LaHood, then the brand new Secretary of Transportation, said was one of his priorities to accomplish during his tenure,” Issa, who pronounced himself a big fan of drones, said at the start of Thursday’s hearing.
“He pledged to work on the FAA to develop standards for safety and deployability,” Issa continued. “[Former Transportation Secretary LaHood] is a dear friend of mine, but the FAA let us down. And today as a pilot, I find it reprehensible that we are in fact constantly talking about the danger of very small [drones] while the FAA has essentially punted on their responsibility to set standards.”
The FAA has been working on regulations for allowing a rapid expansion of the use of commercial drones in the U.S. for years. Congress ordered the agency to develop a framework by the end of this year in a 2012 aviation funding bill.
The agency has defended its pace in implementing the drone rules as a prudent review of an emerging technology that regulators are still trying to figure out how to deal with.
“In the 2012 FAA reauthorization legislation, Congress told the FAA to come up with a plan for ‘safe integration’ of UAS [unmanned aircraft systems] by September 30, 2015,” the agency says on its website. “Safe integration will be incremental. The agency is still developing regulations, policies and standards that will cover a wide variety of UAS users, and expects to publish a proposed rule for small UAS – under about 55 pounds – later this year. That proposed rule will likely include provisions for commercial operations.”
The FAA said that as it has been developing the drone rules it is deferring to other agencies, like the Department of Justice and the Federal Communications Commission, to put privacy protections in place while it studies the impact of adding drones to the already-crowded U.S. airspace.
Democrats on the Judiciary panel defended the agency’s focus on the operational aspect of drone use on Thursday.
Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), who is the top ranking Democrat on the subcommittee, said the FAA’s proposed drone rules “naturally focuses on issues of safety in the skies, as that is the agency’s domain, rather than on privacy concerns.”
Nadler said drone oversight will have to be conducted by a number of agencies because the technology touches on many areas of concern.
“Given the vast array of issues raised by the commercial application of drones, it would seem that a mandatory regulatory structure is warranted,” he said.
“We should also consider where such regulatory powers should lie,” Nadler continued. “For example, the FAA regulates the safety of objects in flight, while the Federal Communications Commission regulates the airwaves through which drones are controlled. The Federal Trade Commission places a strong role in protecting consumer privacy, while the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security take the lead in protecting our security.”
Drone advocates told lawmakers that the finalized version of the FAA’s drone rules is long overdue.
“The FAA has had more than three years to put a small [drone] rule in place,” Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International President Brian Wynne said in testimony submitted in advance of Thursday’s hearing, saying there is “tremendous pent up demand for commercial [drone] operations.”
“UAS technology is at an exciting and pivotal stage,” he added. “The technology is developing rapidly, with new applications being introduced nearly every day, and at a rate much faster than it takes to develop the necessary regulations. We need to ensure the FAA adopts the proper framework to keep up with the rapid development of UAS technology and is sufficiently resourced to work with industry and other stakeholders to perform essential research to maintain the safety of our airspace.
The FAA has approved more than 1,000 drone flights under a section of federal law that allows the Transportation Department to wave requirements for FAA approval for unnamed aircraft operations that take place outside of restricted airspace and below 200 feet.
But Wynne said the waivers are not a substitute for a finalized drone policy.
“The absence of federal regulations means many businesses remain grounded until the rules are put in place,” he said. “The current system of case-by-case approvals isn’t a long-term solution for the many commercial operators wanting to fly.”