Those in favor of having the federal government regulate the Internet like a public utility might take a moment to look at how another potentially transformational technology under Washington’s control is being handled by federal bureaucrats.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the Federal Aviation Administration’s long-awaited proposal on commercial drones, to be issued by year’s end, is expected to require operators to have a pilot’s license for manned aircraft. And operators will be required to keep the drones in sight at all times.
If the report is true (and the FAA is not commenting), the proposal would severely limit the rollout of commercial drones. It could even undermine the use of drones outside of heavily populated areas — in agriculture and for pipelines, for example — where they would be least controversial.
The FAA’s proposal could still be tweaked after review by the White House Office of Management and Budget, and its release will begin a lengthy comment period. So the final word has not been written on drone regulation.
Even so, the FAA’s apparently ultra-conservative approach to unmanned aircraft — seven years after the agency declared the commercial use of drones illegal without special waivers — threatens U.S. leadership in a fast-changing industry with tremendous potential to lower costs and increase productivity.
Commercial operators should have to get some sort of license and liability insurance, of course, and there should be clear rules of the road to ensure safety. But as Businessweek points out, “If regulators regard the person at the controls as akin to a private pilot, it would mean upwards of 40 flight hours at a cost of up to $10,000, limiting (the) pool of workers qualified for the job.”
The FAA’s go-slow approach is often justified by reference to near-miss accidents that have occurred between manned aircraft and small drones. But those incidents are occurring because rogue drone owners are ignoring existing law, not because commercial drones are flooding the skies. Grounding commercial operators isn’t going to reduce that danger.
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