The integration of drones into U.S. skies is expected by many to yield significant commercial and societal benefits. (1) Drones could be employed to inspect pipelines, survey crops, and monitor weather. (2) One newspaper has already used a drone to survey storm damage, (3) and real estate agents have used them to survey property. (4) In short, the extent of their potential domestic application is bound only by human ingenuity. In an effort to accelerate this introduction, in the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, Congress tasked the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) with safely integrating drones into the national airspace system by September 2015. (5) Likewise, sensing the opportunities that unmanned flight portend, lobbying groups and drone manufacturers have joined the chorus of those seeking a more rapid expansion of drones in the domestic market. (6) Yet, the full-scale introduction of drones into U.S. skies will inevitably generate a host of legal issues. This report will explore some of those issues. To begin, this report will describe the regulatory framework for permitting the use of unmanned vehicles and the potential rulemaking that will occur over the next few years. Next, it will discuss theories of takings and property torts as they relate to drone flights over or near private property. It will then discuss the privacy interests implicated by drone surveillance conducted by private actors and the potential countervailing First Amendment rights to gather and receive news. Finally, this report will explore possible congressional responses to these privacy concerns and identify additional potential legal issues.


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    Title :

    Integration of Drones into Domestic Airspace: Selected Legal Issues


    Contributors:

    Publication date :

    2013


    Size :

    25 pages


    Type of media :

    Report


    Type of material :

    No indication


    Language :

    English





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