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A Lawsuit Filed Against the FAA Could Stall Commercial Drone Rules

A civil liberties group says the FAA has to consider privacy before it allows commercial drones to take flight.

​A civil liberties group ​has sued the Federal Aviation Administration, claiming that the agency must create privacy rules ​before its commercial drone rules go into effect. The claim could bog down a rulemaking process that has already been ongoing for more than three years.

The Electronic Privacy Information Center has repeatedly told Congress and the FAA that something must be done to make sure drones aren't used in a way that invades the public's privacy, but both the agency and those in the commercial drone industry have taken the viewpoint that the FAA should regulate safety, not privacy.

The suit is much like the ones being filed against the Federal Communications Commission in the net ne​utrality rules proceedings: EPIC has asked the US Court of Appeals in Washington DC to review the proposed rules, which are set to go into effect in late May. If the court decides to hear the case, that date will be pushed back until after the case is heard.

Not much in the way of arguing or evidence has come out yet, but EPIC has said that the FAA unlawfully ignored a petition si​gned by EPIC and other privacy groups in 2012 urging the FAA to consider privacy.

EPIC might have a case. Though FAA officials have said that the agency has traditionally not considered privacy, the agency did release a paper in late 2013 in which it said it would create guidelines to safe​guard the public's privacy at its commercial drone test sites (but it didn't say it would study privacy in normal airspace).

The FAA was tasked by Congress with creating a "comprehensive plan" for opening up the sky to commercial drones; EPIC argues that includes privacy. The FAA says it doesn't. If the appeals court decides to hear the case, then there's a good chance that we won't have firm drone rules for, perhaps, years to come.