Gadgets7.03.2015

Drone laws to protect your privacy

By SAPA-AP

As drone technology becomes more widespread, European aviation experts and regulators outlined a set of principles on Friday to ensure that unmanned aircraft are safe and that their use respects individual privacy.

The use of civilian drones have been proposed for a wide range of purposes, for example to help farmers fertilize large tracts of land, to carry out search-and-rescue operations or even for parcel deliveries.

But they have raised concerns too.

A recent series of unauthorized drone sightings over Paris and mysterious flights over nuclear stations have flummoxed French authorities. In Washington, an unmanned drone crashed near the White House in January.

“How do we, as a society, want to live with drones?” EU Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc asked Friday at a gathering of aviation experts, regulators and manufacturers in the Latvian capital Riga.

“These technologies are wonderful if they contribute to the welfare of European citizens. But they raise concerns if citizens feel that drones intrude in their private lives; if they illegally gather data; or if drones become flying nuisances,” she added.

By the end of the year, the European Union’s Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is due to propose recommendations on the use of drones after consulting with stakeholders, Bulc said, with a view to updating EU regulations.

At the Riga talks, officials from Brussels met with national civil aviation directors, leaders of the manufacturing industry and data protection authorities.

They all agreed on the need to ensure the “safe and sustainable emergence of innovative drone services,” while also helping the industry “to thrive and adequately deal with citizens’ concerns,” according to a joint declaration.

Drones must be just as safe as other forms of aircraft and must respect citizens’ fundamental rights, they agreed. Security risks and nuisances – such as noise – must also be addressed, they said, adding that drone operators should always be identifiable.

These principles should allow businesses to provide drone services “everywhere in Europe as from 2016 onwards,” the declaration said.