OLR Report 2014-R-0132 answers the questions: What are drones (unmanned aircraft systems (UAS))? How does the 2012 FAA Modernization and Reform Act affect them?
Simply put, a drone is an unmanned aerial vehicle controlled by an on-board computer or remotely by someone on the ground or in another vehicle. Although most often associated with military operations, drones have wide-ranging law enforcement and civilian applications, such as land surveillance, search and rescue, disaster response, and firefighting operations.
All drone operations are subject to regulation by FAA, which is charged with promulgating safety standards in the national air space (NAS). FAA issues certificates of authorization (COA) for limited drone activities in the NAS, after conducting case-by-case safety reviews. Commercial drones are prohibited, as are routine operations over densely populated areas.
Growing public sector and commercial interest in operating drones and increasing drone activities led Congress to pass the FAA Modernization and Reform Act in 2012 (PL 112-95, 126 Stat. 11). The act directs FAA to develop and implement a comprehensive plan to safely integrate civil drones into the NAS by September 2015 and implement new standards for public drone operators. The act includes provisions describing the plan and rules the agency must create to address integration issues, restricting FAA’s ability to regulate “model aircraft,” and requiring the creation of six drone test sites. It also includes mandates to streamline the COA process for government and public safety agencies.
As of February 2014, FAA had met only eight of the act’s 17 UAS requirements. FAA says it has “made progress meeting the act’s UAS provisions, [but] it has determined that it will not meet the September 2015 deadline for UAS integration due to a series of complex technological, regulatory, and managerial barriers” (U.S. Department of Transportation inspector general, Feb. 5, 2014, statement before the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Subcommittee on Aviation).
Privacy advocates have expressed grave concerns about drones and the technology’s potential to infringe on Fourth Amendment rights. In a 2011 letter to FAA, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) stated that “[w]e need a system of rules to ensure that we can enjoy the benefits of this technology without bringing us a large step closer to a “surveillance society” in which our every move is monitored, tracked, recorded, and scrutinized by the authorities” (Protecting Privacy From Aerial Surveillance, ACLU report, published December 2011).
For more information, read the full report.
