Jan. 19, 2021
The FAA recently published the long-awaited Remote Identification (RID) final rule for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) operations, and while NBAA broadly supported many of the provisions contained in the rule as a foundation for safety, national security and operational efficiency, concerns regarding privacy, were acknowledged, but not corrected, in this final rule.
“The FAA hasn’t fully addressed any components of privacy and security raised by the community,” said Heidi Williams, NBAA’s director of air traffic services and infrastructure. “The final rule is a great starting point for RID, but it introduces new concerns that need to be addressed. NBAA is glad the rule is on the street and the industry has some target dates to strive for, but there’s still work to be done.”
Specifically, NBAA believes that location data for the drone control station available through Remote ID should only be available to law enforcement, security agencies and certain safety agencies, including the FAA, and not available to the general public. Based on the final rule, a drone operator complying with Remote ID requirements would not have their personal identification data revealed through Remote ID; however, RID would reveal to the public the physical location of the drone’s operator and of the drone itself.
Read more about NBAA’s comments on the rule.
Ensuring privacy and security of drone operations would benefit many types of UAS missions, whether by protecting a company’s confidential business information or a last-mile delivery consumer’s right to privacy.
“For decades, NBAA has focused on protecting privacy and security for our community. We want to keep the door open for continued efforts to find a reasonable solution to privacy and security risks created by compliance with this rule,” said Doug Carr, NBAA’s vice president of regulatory and international affairs.
The rule is effective March 16, 2021.
Compliance for forward-fit regulations §§ 89.510 and 89.515 are required by Sept.16, 2022.
Compliance for retrofit regulations in §§ 89.105, 89.110 and 89.115 are required by Sept. 16, 2023.
International Business Aviation Council Ltd.