Recent Federal Aviation Administration rules authorizing routine commercial-drone flights also establish legal precedents that could affect an assortment of future air-safety regulations. Laws and regulations applicable to drone flights are almost entirely federal since the federal government “has exclusive sovereignty of airspace in the United States”[1] and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) sets all standards for flight safety. Drones are being used in more ways than ever before by being deployed on search and rescue missions, rapid blood and transplant organ delivery and they’ve advanced high-definition 3-D topography mapping. They can be programmed to flydrone the same ultra-precise route repeatedly, enabling automated up-close inspection of power lines, bridges, pipelines and wind turbines, as well as real-time, multi-sensor mapping of farms right down to individual plants.[2] According to industry estimates, the Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Rule has the potential of generating more than $82 billion for the U.S. economy and create more than 100,000 new jobs over the next 10 years.[3]

The UAS Rule requirements are intended to minimize risks to other aircraft as well as people and property on the ground. The new regulations allow personal and commercial flight of drones weighing less than 55lbs., operated during daylight, within the visual-line-of-sight of the pilot (using a drone’s camera does not satisfy this requirement), with a maximum airspeed of 100mph and maximum altitude of 400 feet above ground level.[4] The small UAS can be operated from a moving vehicle if the operation is over a sparsely populated and it is only operated over people directly participating in the activity. Flights under covered structures or at night are prohibited, as is careless or reckless operation of the drone. Transportation of property for compensation or hire is legal so long as the aircraft, including its attachments and cargo weigh less than 55 pounds total, the flight is conducted within visual line of sight (not from a moving vehicle or aircraft) and the flight occurs wholly within the bounds of a state, excluding Hawaii and the District of Columbia. Many of these restrictions are waivable if the operator demonstrates that appropriate safety measures will be used consistently.

Drone operators will need to be cognizant of the new regulations to avoid preventable legal action. An individual operating a small UAS must be at least 16 years old and must hold either a remote pilot airman certificate with a small UAS rating or be under the direct supervision of a person who does hold a remote pilot certificate. To qualify for a remote pilot certificate, an individual must either pass an initial aeronautical knowledge test at an FAA-approved knowledge testing center or have an existing non-student Part 61 pilot certificate. If qualifying under the latter provision, a pilot must have completed a flight review in the previous 24 months and must take a UAS online training course provided by the FAA. The TSA will conduct a security background check of all remote pilot applications prior to issuance of a certificate. While an FAA airworthiness certification is not required, the drone operator must conduct a preflight visual and operational check to ensure the drone’s safe operation.

The FAA is expected to expand upon on these rules in the future to permit a superior range of operations. Therefore it remains crucial that companies as well as drone manufacturers stay up to date on the developments occurring in the field of drone regulation.

[1] 49 U.S.C. §40103(a)(1)

[2] https://www.ohiobar.org/NewsAndPublications/OhioLawyer/Pages/Drones-and-the-law-What-you-need-to-know.aspx

[3] https://www.faa.gov/news/press_releases/news_story.cfm?newsId=20515

[4] https://www.faa.gov/uas/media/Part_107_Summary.pdf

Written in July 2016 for PS&E Law Firm

Full article can be found at: http://www.pselaw.com/2016/07/27/what-you-need-to-know-before-flying-a-drone-in-ohio/

I wanted to kick my blog off with a fun post about an application that has been downloaded 500 million+ times to date and is taking over cell phones worldwide. Enjoy!

Pokémon Go has become the biggest mobile game in United States history attracting over 21 million active daily users and over $268 million in revenues since its launch on July 6th, 2016. Yet the handheld game has also brought forward concerns about how exposed our personal information can be in the hands of seemingly nonthreatening applications. To play Pokémon Go, gamers use their smartphone’s GPS to find, capture, fight and train virtual creatures superimposed on the real world shown by their camera. Players can purchase items to advance the game, including coins, eggs and incubators.

Pikachu

The game originally requested permission on the players smartphone not only to use a player’s device camera and location information, but also to be granted full access to the user’s Google accounts — including email, calendars, photos, stored documents and any other information associated with the login. Though the developers claim that while Pokémon Go did not use any information from players’ accounts other than basic Google profile information, they still requested access, which raised red flags. The application’s privacy policy has since been updated, so it is suggested that players with an iPhone should log out and download the update from the App Store, as the updated application only allows access to the user’s name and Gmail email address. Players who installed the application on an Android device and logged in with their Google account only granted access to their Google username and email address from the start.

Though Pokémon Go may have never actually been interested in your emails, it is capable of tracking your location and has access to your IP address as well as the webpage you most recently visited before launching the application. The game imposes virtual graphics (Pokémon) over the real world; therefore the application needs access to maps and locations. Yet this can be accomplished without requesting access to the player’s personal information. Keeping this in mind, players who want to play the virtual real-world game can restrict access to their Google accounts by creating ‘Pokémon Trainer Club’ accounts that are specific to the application and do not request excessive personal information.

Clicking “yes” to application requests that pop up during installation on a mobile device can compromise personal privacy. In their terms and conditions, some applications have clauses which state that they will hand over data to law enforcement officials or other private parties to respond to legal requests, yet few people realize that since they do not read the ‘small print.’ If you are unsure about the permissions on your mobile device that you have previously approved, they can be checked on iOS (Apple devices) by tapping Settings and scrolling down for a list of applications and what these applications have access to, these applications can then be altered and evaluated individually. On Android, tap Settings then Apps under Device Settings then choose the application and tap Permissions to evaluate each individually. It is very common for users to have applications downloaded onto their device that put them at a similar risk of exposing personal information as the original Pokémon Go application.