The United Nations' own aviation agency, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), is backing a move to develop a single, global database which would require all unmanned aircraft to be registered to it.
The federal drone registration system officially opened this week, and the FAA says that over 45,000 owners have already registered their drones. At the same time, there have been reports of glitches that may have exposed customer information to strangers.
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 FAA announced its drone registration process today, a couple of months after announcing the registry: if you operate a drone that weighs over 0.55 pounds and less than 55 pounds, you'll need to register it by February 19, 2016. There's also going to be a $5 fee.
Camera equipment has long been attractive to the eyes of thieves. After all, it's generally portable, pricey, and a piece of cake to sell through channels such as Craigslist. In Northern California, robbers have begun targeting photojournalists at gunpoint in order to snatch their gear.
Developer Trevor Sehrer, a Google engineer by day, has been working on a website that aims to help combat the theft of photography gear. It's called Lenstag, and is an online equipment registry that makes it easier to report and track stolen cameras and lenses.