The recent UAS Technical Analysis and Applications Center (TAAC) Conference hosted by New Mexico State University in Albuquerque, NM drew hundreds of attendees from government, the defense department, academia and the UAS industry. The three-day conference spoke to a number of issues relating to the development and operation of unmanned aircraft systems and the challenges facing the introduction of UAS into the US civil environment. The safe integration of UAS into the national airspace system (NAS) continues to be a challenge, and there is yet to be a definitive timeline for the publication of a small unmanned aircraft system rule (NPRM) allowing the civil operation of even the smallest UAS (<55 lbs) in the national airspace.
Though airspace integration continues to be at major issue, societal issues regarding privacy and potential infringement of civil liberties are rapidly becoming the number one challenge for UAS. The privacy issue was a common thread running through the topics discussed at the conference, and though opinions varied regarding the relevancy of the privacy issue, everyone agreed that this issue is poised to be the greatest stumbling block to broad-spectrum deployment of unmanned aircraft within the United States.
- FAA – The privacy issue must be resolved before moving forward with UAS integration
- UAS Industry – This is a cul-de-sac issue… digital data collection and persistent imaging by government and private entities exist throughout our lives today and have for years.
- DoD – The collection, storage and dissemination of data/imagery are separate issues and apart from the platforms on which the sensors are mounted, and should be addressed separately
- AUVSI – The primary mission of the FAA is safety… The FAA should adhere to the will of Congress as well as focus on the agency’s stated mission of providing ‘the safest, most efficient aerospace system in the world… Such conversations (civil dialogue on privacy) should take place concurrent with the (UAS) integration.
- Manned Aviation – It is our belief that for FAA to succeed, the agency must remain focused on safety rather than privacy issues, where the FAA has no statutory standing or technical expertise.
- Academia (John Villasenor) – Protected rights are already provided in the Constitution. If someone infringes those fundamental rights, then the Constitution, as applied through the courts, stands fully capable of protecting us against that behavior.
No matter which views prevail, until consensus is reached, it’s obvious that concerns regarding privacy and the potential infringement of civil liberties will continue to be a stumbling block to the introduction of UAS.
Click the link below to read the complete text of Prof. Villasenor’s remarks presented at the TAAC conference on Wednesday, 12/5…
Why We Need to Address Unmanned Aircraft Privacy Now
John Villasenor has written several articles on the issues surrounding the introduction of unmanned aircraft into the national airspace and has espoused the distinction between recreational model aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles dubbed as “drones” by the national media. John is a professor at UCLA and a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington DC. John’s work focuses on the nature and growing impact of digital information. He is particularly interested in the intersection of digital technology with public policy and the law. You can follow John on Twitter (@johndvillasenor).