drone laws

In the wake of recent moves to facilitate drone operations in the formerly closed skies of New York City, officials are now reportedly examining the further expansion of already increasing police use of UAVs to include emergency responder activities – provoking immediate, albeit suspiciously motivated alarm.

Police in France have conducted the nation’s first known drone surveillance of a pro soccer match, with flights of UAVs above Paris’s Parc des Princes stadium Saturday in what may be the first step toward regular deployment of publicly opposed aerial tech.

As a reflection of just how strong public sentiment in France remains against police use of drones to monitor people, officials waited well into the nation’s six-straight nights of rioting before giving law enforcement agencies the green light to fly UAVs for security purposes in response to the unrest.

Cranston Police in Rhode Island say they have arrested a convicted sex offender on a fresh felony charge of video voyeurism. The accused was reportedly using a small drone to peer inside the bathroom window of a woman in his neighborhood.

A new law in Illinois gives police the authority to deploy drones in expanded scenarios – for notably monitoring crowds during large public events – but prevents law enforcement from using any facial recognition tech during aerial operations, apart from critical situations like potential terror plotting.

The US House of Representatives has added to Washington’s flurry of legislative initiatives in recent months surrounding future airline, drone, next-generation aircraft, and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) activity, with a new committee proposal that – among many, many other things – sets deadlines for creating new rules on beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations by UAVs.

As virtually inevitable after a long series of protracted legal battles, the seemingly eternal case of a Michigan couple suing local authorities for having allegedly violated their privacy and constitutional rights by using a drone to inspect their cluttered yard is now heading to the state’s Supreme Court for final adjudication.

Montana has adopted a new law adding state penalties for drone pilots whose flights interfere with firefighting efforts on top of federal fines – a legal combination that could feasibly cost convicted violators $40,000.

In a development that will please pilots sick of being harassed by drone-hating antagonists, a man in the UK now awaits sentencing for having brandished a gun while accosting a real estate agent doing aerial work near his home.

Mississippi governor Tate Reeves has signed the Uncrewed Aircraft Systems’ Rights and Authorities Act into law, which codifies that the ultimate authority over the state airspace lies with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). This law is crucial because it prevents additional burdensome regulations for drone operators. At the same time, it clarifies that violations of property-based legal regimes, such as trespass, do not occur when a drone simply flies overhead.

Buzz it, and they will come – the cops, that is. State lawmakers in Iowa have introduced legislation that calls for creating fines and potential prison sentences for pilots who fly their drones within 400 feet of farms raising livestock.

Drone pilots visiting the Atlantic coast vacation spot of Wildwood, New Jersey, may have to consult the calendar – and check in with the local police – before sending their craft aloft if a proposed municipal ordinance limiting use of UAV is passed today.

A new bipartisan bill has been introduced in the US Senate with the principal objective of streamlining, speeding, and broadening the process under which the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) authorizes beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) drone flights by businesses and public agencies.

A new drone flight advisory service is now available for pilots in Australia, and it’s free for all users.

Proposed legislation in Arkansas that would legally ban certain registered sex offenders from owning or operating a drone took another step toward passage this week, when the Senate Committee on Judiciary approved the bill in a five to one vote.

Among the first pieces of legislation introduced to the new Congress is a bill calling for an Office of Advanced Aviation to be created within the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which would coordinate regulation of craft, pilot training, air traffic systems, and other considerations particular to next-generation vehicles that will be providing air taxi and other services.

Winter is a great time to visit national parks. Many national parks in the US have recreation centers that support winter activities such as skiing, sledding, and snowshoeing or offer guided tours and classes. But if you’re thinking of taking that drone with you to admire the beauty of nature from a different vantage point, think again. Flying a drone may be prohibited at the park you are visiting.

A provincial court in Canada has ordered a man to pay nearly $7,400 (CAD 10,000) in penalties for piloting a drone near a wildfire in Alberta’s Jasper National Park. This is reportedly the “largest fine ever” issued for flying a drone illegally in a national park in Canada.

So much for the abide-no-rules rock and roll attitude. Whoever said UAVs produced some of the world’s loudest whining hadn’t heard Guns ‘N Roses singer Axl Rose complain about drone flights at the group’s recent concerts for having distracted him, rather than for posing potential (and illegal) danger to his fans.

The director of the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) has joined a chorus of voices urging Congress to take steps to maintain or expand the counter-drone capacities of US security authorities, backing up his urging with revelations of the agency’s ongoing investigations into UAVs being equipped to transport homemade bombs.

A court has fined a Chinese student $3,500 for taking drone photos and videos of his girlfriend at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore.