Drones Become the Latest Peeping Tom Tool

By Mark J. Donovan

Binoculars, telescopes, and high-end zoom lens cameras have all been used as “Peeping Tom” spy tools. Be it the private citizen pervert or voyeur, the CIA, the FBI, or Federal/State police agencies, all have historically used these tools for spying on neighbors, private citizens, criminals, international enemies, etc. Now the drone has been added to their arsenals. Last week in Hollis, New Hampshire, for example, a report came out that drones were being used as a “Peeping Tom” tool.  Apparently the perp(s) flew their drones in the late evening or early morning hours up to the windows of neighbors home, and then hovered and spied the activities going on in the homes. See here.

Sadly, this type of situation will most likely become much more rampant in the months and years ahead. However, unlike the Hollis, NH report, future drones will be much more difficult to hear and see. Most people won’t know they’ve been filmed or taped, until they’ve been notified that their images are posted on social media channels like Youtube.com, Instagram, and Snapchat, as well as many other more nefarious websites.

In my book “Nano Surveillance”, the story starts out with just such a situation. A housefly sized drone is flown and guided underneath a closed door, and then used to film the activities going on in a hotel room occupied by the Vice President of the United States.

It will be interesting to see how governments around the world develop solutions for combating this type of privacy invasion, and even more interesting how they themselves will use drones to conduct their own spying endeavors. See here. Only time will tell, but suffice it to say, privacy may very well become a forgotten word in the not too distant future.

The Flight of the Commercial Drone has come to Fruition

New FAA regulations that relax commercial pilot/operator requirements for small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS), will accelerate the use of Drones / UAVs in commercial operations.

Instead of requiring a manned aircraft pilots license for commercial drone use, all future sUAS operators will need to do is pass an aeronautical knowledge test and self-certify their physical capacity to safely operate the drone. See - http://robohub.org/faa-announcement-for-suas-met-with-industry-excitement/

Drone Registry Information will be Made Available to the Public

Your Registered Eye in the Sky will be Observable to the Public

By Mark J. Donovan

The FAA has confirmed that information logged in its new UAV / Drone registry program will be open to the public. Meaning, the information gathered from everyone who registers a drone will be available to the public. The only information that will be withheld will be email addresses and credit card information. In regards to who needs to register their drone, any drone that weighs between 0.55 lbs and 55 lbs will need to be registered in this program.

It is important to note that this registry program is no different than what is already currently done for traditional aircraft owners. Visit this website and type in any tail number of an aircraft. You’ll quickly see the aircraft owners name, address and specifications about the aircraft.

Although some may have privacy concerns about this new UAV registry program, it should help to put any drone owner/operator on notice about using their drone in a malicious or reckless way. For example, any person that sees a drone being operated in some questionable manner will have the ability to look up in this database for any registered drones in their area and be able to contact their local police department and/or FAA to report the problem and prospective perpetrator.

Again, this same type of registry and private citizen capability already exists today for standard aircraft. For example, if a pilot flies a small plane over a congested area under 1,000 feet above the ground, he or she can expect to hear from the FAA in short order if someone on the ground records the aircraft tail number.

So, although the forced registry of your drone and having some of your personal information made available to the public may sound like you’re registering as a sex offender, it shouldn’t be personally taken that way, unless you indeed have those intentions. It is simply putting you on par with every other owner of traditional aircraft for the public’s safety, and in the case of drones, public privacy.  

FAA Launches Drone Registration on 12/21/15

If you own a drone already or expect to own one by 12/21/15, and it weighs between 0.55 lbs and 55 lbs you will need to register it with the FAA by 2/19/16. See the full article here.

As a private pilot I can understand and appreciate why the FAA is doing this. The last thing a pilot wants to see when coming in on final is a meter wide drone flying in his or her flight path. Hundreds could be killed in an instant if a drone gets sucked into an engine on a 747.

Also, registering drones should hopefully help curtail the amount of voyeurism that will inevitably occur with this technology. We are already hearing cases of it happening today. Undoubtedly we will see a lot more, but at least by registering the drones there will be a better chance of locating and bringing to justice the perpetrators.