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Dear America, you do have to register drones with the FAA after all

by 9 Comments

Yes, that’s right, the drone registry introduced in 2015, and deemed unconstitutional back in May of this year is now back. When the drone registration system was first introduced it was met with mixed response. On the one hand, there’s those worried about privacy, and on the other the “Well, if you’re not doing anything illegal, what do you have to worry about?”

Now, it seems privacy be damned, thanks to a bill signed into law yesterday by President Trump. The reinstated registration rules are a small part of a much larger $700bn National Defense Authorization Act. TechCrunch suggests that this was such a small part of the bill it likely slipped through unnoticed.

TechCrunch report that they spoke to the FAA, and in a statement they were told…

We welcome the reinstatement of registration rules for small unmanned aircraft.

Ownership identification helps promote safe and responsible drone operation and is a key component to full integration

The original registration system was shut down earlier in the year, after the appeals court determined that the FAA didn’t have the authority to regulate model aircraft. Over 836,000 people had registered their drones by this point, and the FAA expected sales of 2.3 million consumer drones this year in the US.

The FAA now once again requires that all drones weighing between 0.55 and 55lbs be registered, and the full list of the rules is available here.

The news will likely be praised by some and criticised by others. Whether or not it can be beaten again, though is another matter.

[via TechCrunch]

Related posts:

FAA is developing a remote identification system for personal drones DJI will severely limit your drone’s capabilities if you don’t register with them You might be owed a refund if you registered your drone with the FAA FAA expects commercial drone market to triple in size by 2023 but consumer demand is dropping

  • I don’t care. I think it’s important because you do have idiots flying them near airports or to airport air space. I plan to get one. The thing is unless you are doing something your not suppose to then you might have an issue.

    • photographer_22

      And how does registering them, keep them away from Airports? You don’t even need to register guns…thank goodness the guy down the street needs to register his Mavic in case he goes on a drone murder spree…

    • Using that logic we should all have to blow into out cars to keep the drunks off of the road. It’s hard to legislate stupid.

  • Product idea – a streamlined helium balloon that you attach to your drone to make the flight weight less than 250g.

  • I thought unconstitutional meant unconstitutional? It’s funny how the govt makes us register our deadly drones, but we don’t have to our guns or cars with the feds.

  • Ezra Ekman

    I can’t fault this logic. Drones aren’t firearms, and therefore don’t fall under protections created to ensure freedom from tyranny. Drones ARE something with which serious threats exist. A drone can make its way into a secure area without resistance. Consider prisons, energy facilities, airports, etc. A drone can (and has) collided with aircraft. A drone can (and has) have firearms mounted on it to fire remotely. A drone can (and has) smuggle drugs into prison. A drone can (and has) be used to deliver explosives to kill people. Drones are a brand new tech with HUGE security implications that we’re only just beginning to see, and yet they are accessible to anyone with as little as $20 and almost no oversight or licensing requirements.

    Note that I’m not saying that it should be heavily regulated and licensed so that average consumers can’t get involved. Not at all! I think it should be encouraged, but at the same time we are talking about an actual vehicle the the potential to create dangerous situations if left completely unchecked. We require licenses for cars. We require licenses for planes. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to ask for REGISTRATION of a drone, if not an actual license to use them in a public place.

  • I have such mixed feelings about this. Drones really can be a public hazzard under the right circumstances. At the end of the day I favor laws that enforce culpability. In many functional ways, this is no different than registering a motor vehicle. That also means that taxation is not far behind.

    My major reservation is regarding the bill to which this rider was attached. Our national defense budget is monster of an issue, but drones are mainly a domestic issue. Mixing the two things is bad form, but I have come to expect it from our lawmakers.

  • Fuck that I will not .

  • if it teaches responsibility I’m all for it..
    I’ve seen my fair share of near misses with people using these in parks and the beach etc..

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