Back in May, a US federal court ruled that personal drones don't need to be registered as part of the FAA's mandatory drone registration program. That just changed: President Trump just signed a defense policy bill that restores the requirement that all recreational drone owners register their aircraft with the government.
If you are the owner of a camera drone and are big on privacy, this news may be concerning to you: the mandatory drone registry that's being launched by the FAA will make your name and address available to the public.
The United States announced last month that it's creating a federal drone registry and will soon require that all drone owners register their devices in order to fly legally. While the move should help reign in the "wild wild west" that is the drone industry today, some are wary that over-regulation could hurt the rights of drone owners -- including the rights of the media to gather news.
In a piece we published back in September, drone owner Pablo Castro argues that his country, Colombia, has implemented "absurd, abusive, illogical laws" that make it virtually impossible for people to use their drones legally.
The Obama administration announced today that it will be creating the first ever federal drone registry to reign in the wild wild west of drone usage. Drone owners will be required to register their drones with the database in order to fly legally, and those caught flying unregistered drones will face "consequences."