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FAA Sued Over Federal Drone Registry (technical.ly) 192

"Last December, the FAA rushed an arbitrary and ineffectual recreational drone-owners' registry into effect, mere days before Christmas and just in time to criminalize the flying of toys by thousands of children and hobbyists," argued The Daily Signal. Now Slashdot reader jenningsthecat reports on a promising legal challenge filed by a drone hobbyist who's also a lawyer, who is now "receiving financial help with his suit from the D.C. area Drone User Group (DC DUG). In his Petitioner's Brief, John Taylor maintains that "(f)or the first century of American aviation and beyond, the federal government made no attempt whatsoever to regulate recreational model aircraft", and that "(t)he FAA seeks to revise history (PDF) when it argues its failure to register model aircraft, or otherwise treat them in any manner as 'aircraft,' in the past was the exercise of an 'enforcement discretion.'"
On a fund-raising page for the challenge, the group calls the federal registry "deeply concerning to users and prospective users of small unmanned aircraft."
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FAA Sued Over Federal Drone Registry

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  • Toys (Score:1, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward

    When you can't play with your toys in a safe manner you get your toys taken away.

    • Re: (Score:1, Interesting)

      by Anonymous Coward
      When you take away my toys, I install a new government and execute the old one.
      • Re: (Score:1, Offtopic)

        by Calydor ( 739835 )

        So you killed your parents?

      • GOTO START
      • Pretty sure that we aren't going to have a revolution over the regulation of drones. You have no constitutional right to record your neighbor changing clothes through their second story window. The reality is that we have had hobbiest aircraft for a long time as the original article points out, the difference now is that nearly all drones come equipped with an HD video camera, and many can be operated beyond LOS and that is at the root of the problem.

        The reality that the idiot drone operators (not all jus

        • ... many can be operated beyond LOS and that is at the root of the problem.

          It's always been and remains illegal to fly R/C recreational aircraft outside LoS. How is this a new problem that's not addressed by the old laws?

        • by Marful ( 861873 )

          You have no constitutional right to record your neighbor changing clothes through their second story window.

          If the blinds are open with a clear and unobstructed view and I am in a place I am legally allowed to be, I absolutely have a right to record my neighbor changing clothes through their second story window. You may want to read up on privacy laws and come back here because this line alone clearly tells me you have no clue about privacy rights.

          The reality is that we have had hobbiest aircraft for a long time as the original article points out, the difference now is that nearly all drones come equipped with an HD video camera, and many can be operated beyond LOS and that is at the root of the problem.

          You immediately assume that because a multi-rotor has a camera on it, it is capable of high-resolution pictures, at magnification. Again, you clearly don't know much

    • Indeed. What we should do eliminate cars, motorbikes and all those other things that cause countless deaths every year as opposite to toys which so far have caused precisely zero deaths.

    • When you can't play with your toys in a safe manner you get your toys taken away.

      There are now many millions of these toys in use, with hundreds of millions of hours in the air. Please cite your long list of examples of these toys being used in such a dangerous way that the long list of injuries and mayhem require a publicly-browsable federal registry of their owners and the criminalization and fining of kids who fail to register their 10 ounce plastic copter with the federal government.

      More people are hurt using soccer balls, garden tools, and bicycles in a given day than have been

  • Laws like this wouldn't be necessary if people just knew how to fucking behave.

    • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

      by thegarbz ( 1787294 )

      People behave just fine. The laws are an over-reaction to a non issue. We're happy to ban Kindersurprise eggs so kids don't choke on toys, drones so they don't bring down aircraft, magnets because they are magic, but we happily let countless things by that kill millions of Americans every year.

      These laws aren't necessary.

      • by slimjim8094 ( 941042 ) on Saturday October 01, 2016 @12:06PM (#52994267)

        Er, what do you think "kill[s] millions of Americans every year"? Only 2.6 million people died in 2014 all together. 614k of those are heart disease, followed closely by cancer at 591k. Those two are the only causes of death above 150k/yr. Unless you're saying that "our Western appetites, processed food, and a largely sedentary lifestyle" are the "countless things" we're letting by, you're talking out your ass.

        Certainly drones must seem like a non-issue to you if you think the world is at least 10x more fatal than it is. For the rest of us, it would be nice if people would be a bit more responsible with their dangerous toys. Like the old-school model airplane AMA-member types - that's all anyone (including the FAA) wants out of the drone types. I think the eggs and magnet bans are stupid too (though you can still buy the magnets btw) but drones can hurt other people so they're a different category.

        • Yes, deaths are the only thing that can cause trauma to someone, it's not at all a problem when people get injured. There were over 5 million motor vehicle accidents just in America last year. World wide there were 1.2million deaths. So you're right, I'm talking out of my ass and this is a non-issue. Nothing to see here, move along.

          Shit if the world is 1/100th time as fatal as it is it still has killed erm let me do the math ( [arbrtrary made up number] / zero = infinity. ) Yeah so even with your realisatio

        • people need to stop with these stupids redirections just because they don't want to be wrong on the internets.

          compare cars to toy drones
          compare guns to toy drones
          compare knives to toy drones
          compare chairs to toy drones (hint: there are more death from chairs than toy drones for fuck sakes)

      • People behave just fine.

        Man, you must never leave the house.

        • People behave just fine.

          Man, you must never leave the house.

          OK, since you get out of the house so much, you've no doubt got lots of anecdotes and hopefully at least a few examples of the countless tragedies that have occurred because 14 year old kids with 10-ounce plastic copters from the mall kiosk weren't properly put in criminal jeopardy for failing to appear on a publicly searchable federal database of toy owners. There must be many, many injuries and deaths associated with this activity to warrant such a thing, right? Right?

        • People behave just fine.

          Man, you must never leave the house.

          All the time. I may just be surrounded by a different kind of people :-)

    • Laws like this wouldn't be necessary if people just knew how to fucking behave.

      NO LAWS would be necessary if people knew how to behave and chose to behave. THIS PARTICULAR law is unnecessary primarily because it doesn't really accomplish anything.

      • NO LAWS would be necessary if people knew how to behave and chose to behave. THIS PARTICULAR law is unnecessary primarily because it doesn't really accomplish anything.

        You're right. But at some point, government that involves people can only be a blunt instrument. Is there a right to own drones? I don't know, and am not sure I care. Is there a right to a free Internet? I don't know, but it's not a free internet as long as hackers can run roughshod over individuals, companies and governments with impunit

  • by slimjim8094 ( 941042 ) on Saturday October 01, 2016 @11:55AM (#52994241)

    The FAA has broad authority over anything that flies and they have a history of declining to regulate hobbyist model aircraft. But putting out an advisory circular saying "we won't bother you if you are a hobbyist and listen to the AMA" is kind of the opposite of "we don't have any authority over this activity". "Enforcement discretion" is pretty much exactly how I would describe this.

    Like most executive branch functions, and like it or not, the precise manner and timing of how the FAA carries out their mandate is up to them. It's basically like how the cops usually won't bother people for having a broken tail-light or a few MPH of speeding, but can elect to pull over people at any time for those violations. In fact, even if the town has a policy of not pulling people over for always had to understand something about airspace and keep things safe. Pre-drone, the AMA served this purpose and their fields' placements and operating rules took care of this problem. But when you can unbox your drone, charge it for an hour or two, and then send it up to 3000' on the first try, there's no funnel through the AMA like there used to be to teach people those rules. The drone registry's main purpose is to act as another funnel so that people can figure out where and when it's safe to fly. And, if they don't play by the rules, that there's at least the potential for accountability.

    The drone community has brought this on themselves entirely. As even the suit alleges, everyone was OK with the model airplane rules. Drones changed the game and forced the agency's hand here. That's what happens with disruptive technology - you might as well get mad about the regulation of automobiles because everything was fine with horses. But obviously cars are much easier to use (average experience and skill goes down) and go much faster (danger goes up). Drones are similarly easier to use, which explains their popularity, and can easily go much higher and from way more places.

    • The drone community has brought this on themselves entirely.

      Please cite the number of tragic injuries and other horribleness resulting per year from the use of 10-ounce plastic mall copter toys that warrants the criminalization of their unregistered use ... compared to, say, the HOURLY rate of injuries in the country that result from, say, bicycle or skateboard use in public spaces. Really: get specific.

      There are millions of "drones" in use with hundreds of millions of in-air hours booked. Surely there's a long parade of horrific accidents, injuries and death re

      • I cut my finger on a propeller once.

    • by King_TJ ( 85913 )

      I'm not sure how much success this group will have vs. a Federal regulatory agency like the FAA? But that doesn't mean I agree with your assertion that the drone community "brought this on themselves" or that it's anything like the transition from horses to motor vehicles.

      The *only* reason attention was drawn to drones was the hype and news about their use in the military. Without that association in people's minds, drones would still be regarded as toys or photographic tools by most people -- and not view

    • by kesj ( 87284 )

      Exactly, the model aircraft and the AMA have been around for many decades and one never heard about about drones being sighted at high altitudes and near airport approaches. Since these el cheapo drones have been available so every Tom, Dick, and Harry can run to Mal-Wart and buy one without knowing or caring to know the operational rules, there have been a rash of these events. Personally, I'd like to go way beyond a register and have people tested on their knowledge of the rules that pertain to drone oper

  • We need that airspace clear so we can sell it to the highest bidder. To hell with your recreational stuff, and your democracy protecting uses.

  • I "registered" my drone as required and nowhere in the process was there anything to identify my drone. In other words, my drone isn't registered; I am registered as a drone owner. What good is that? If someone misuses their drone the FAA sends out a list of local drone owners?
    • I "registered" my drone as required and nowhere in the process was there anything to identify my drone. In other words, my drone isn't registered; I am registered as a drone owner. What good is that? If someone misuses their drone the FAA sends out a list of local drone owners?

      They just want a list of houses to SWAT if some politician is video recorded porking their illegal-alien Mexican maid's 14-yo daughter by the swimming pool.

      Coincidentally, last weekend I was visiting with a friend who owns/flies small drones. I went with him to a local park that's a popular spot for local drone owners to fly and spent most of a Saturday there. We'd actually been discussing 'drone licensing' and decided to take an informal poll among the drone owners that showed up at the park. Every single

  • The Part 107 rules STILL leave out the use-case of volunteer non-profit search & rescue operations. By definition, commercial means that you are being compensated. The FAA's own example of accepting ball game tickets as a gift for flying illustrates this. Volunteer non-profit SAR groups aren't compensated for their work. Therefore, one would think that Part 107 doesn't apply yet many people believe that it does. SAR also doesn't have the luxury of waiting any length of time to look for someone nor

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