Choi-Fitzpatrick in Slate
CMDS associate faculty Austin Choi-Fitzpatrick contributed an article to Slate's FutureTense series called "How the FAA’s Drone Policy Will Affect the Rest of The World."
My colleagues and I have been playing with a drone in Budapest, flying it over public plazas and parks that are immediately adjacent to the embassies of powerful countries. Should we be able to do that? The Hungarian government hasn’t decided yet, nor have many other governments around the world.
That includes the United States, which has a prime opportunity to influence drone regulation worldwide. The Obama administration has tasked the FAA with drafting national guidelines for personal and for-profit use (though Slate’s John Frank Weaverhas asked whether it has the authority to do so). These guidelines are long overdue as regulators scratch their heads about what to do with these devices. Are drones hobbyist craft or small airplanes? When are they toys, and when are they for surveillance or delivering pizzas or search and rescue? The FAA has been solicitingpublic input from Americans over the last few months. The ultimate decision will have a global impact for one simple reason: There is no policy consensus on the issue.