‘Broad and varied’ list of schools, agencies, others received permission to fly drones


View Map of Domestic Drone Authorizations in a larger map

The FAA’s first public list of public and private drone certificate holders is “broad and varied…  including universities, police departments, and small towns and counties across the United States” but leaves “many questions unanswered,” reports the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which pushed for the records via FOIA. 

Says the Wall Street Journal, “Although the documents don’t indicate how the aircraft will be used, the disclosures likely will fuel privacy concerns involving drones.”

Full list of certificates to public agencies | List of those to private entities

Domestic drones 'an imminent threat to privacy,' petition to FAA warns

Domestic drones are “an imminent threat to the privacy of every U.S. citizen,” the Electronic Privacy Information Center said this week in a petition to the Federa Aviation Administration. The ACLU says it is onboard with the petition as well.

“Google, inc. has already started using drones in other countries to supplement the images for their Street View service. In Hollywood, companies are developing “paparazzi drones” in order to follow and photograph celebrities. Private detectives have also found use for drones to assist with persistent tracking of their targets. Criminals and others may use drones for purposes of stalking and harassment,” the petition says.

“The consequences of increased government surveillance through the use of drones are even more troubling. The ability to link facial recognition capabilities on drone cameras to the FBI’s Next Generation Identification database, the largest collection of biometric data in the world, increases the First Amendment risks for would-­‐be political dissidents. In addition, the use of drones implicates significant Fourth Amendment interests and common law privacy rights.”

The president earlier this month signed legislation requiring that drones ben integrated into commercial airspace.