BURLINGTON — The aircraft on the minds of most Chittenden County residents is the F-35, a cutting-edge fighter jet that might end up at the Burlington International Airport.
But Rep. Peter Welch was on the steps of the Chittenden County Courthouse on Friday to talk about a different, markedly smaller flying device — unmanned drones.
Welch has drafted a bill to regulate the machines. He’s not the first: Legislation has been introduced at the federal level and in 42 state legislatures, according to the ACLU, in order to pre-empt the proliferation of drones that’s expected to occur. (The Federal Aviation Administration, which has jurisdiction over the unmanned aircraft, predicts there will be 30,000 by 2030.)
Welch says federal legislation has focused on regulating drones as law enforcement tools; his bill addresses private drone activity as well.
Welch was joined on the courthouse steps by Allen Gilbert, executive director the Vermont ACLU. Gilbert backed a bill introduced in the Vermont Legislature last spring, that would require law enforcement to obtain a warrant before deploying drones, except in cases where there’s an imminent risk or as part of a search and rescue operation. That legislation, filed late in the session, is still in committee and will likely be taken up in the next legislative session.
Welch’s bill contains the same warrant requirement, and it also asks law enforcement agencies to submit a “data minimization statement,” showing that they’ll be selective with the data they collect.
What’s new about Welch’s approach is it requires private drone owners to submit information to the FAA. To get a license, individuals and private entities would have to tell the FAA who will operate the drone, where it will be flown, what type of data will be collected, why it’s being collected and how long it will be kept on hand. All of that information would be published online.
The requirements, Welch says, are not onerous. “In a way that’s similar to an airline providing information about a flight path,” Welch said. “This is not a burden. It’s going to focus attention on the fact that using drones can be an encroachment on privacy rights.” Private drone owners already need a license to fly their craft.
The goal, Welch said is “to make certain that, as we get this new technology that has the capacity to do good, that it does not compromise the privacy rights that Vermonters and American citizens have. And what we face with the explosion of technology in this world is the challenge of modernizing laws and regulations to make certain our constitutional right to privacy continues to be respected.”
If a drone owner does overstep privacy bounds, Welch’s bill leaves it up to the FTC, states’ attorneys general, and citizens to bring them to court. Asked whether or not the FTC was up to the task of enforcing proper drone activity, Welch said he wasn’t sure.
“It’s not clear,” Welch said. “There’s such an assault on all government agencies and their personnel.” That’s why he’s hoping attorney generals and individuals will step up to the plate. He is concerned that citizens might not be aware of intrusions into individual privacy.
Welch didn’t know whether private drones had made their way into Vermont yet. Gilbert, who stood next to the congressman during the press conference, jumped in, holding up photographic evidence. The photo, which appeared in the Business section of the Barre-Montpelier Times Argus on June 17 shows two Fayston residents posing with a “remote-controlled quad copter” they use for their aerial photography business.
“This is how drones will come in,” Gilbert said. “There will be two guys who get what looks like a hobby version of some sort of flying aircraft … and they are going to start using it for all sorts of things.” Addressing the reporters in the audience, Gilbert said, “Within a year or two most of you will probably work at places where there are drones.”
In fact, one TV station, WCAX, already has one. But, it’s sitting in a box. Meredith Neary, programming and public service producer for WCAX, explained that they made an “impulse buy” at a trade show a few years ago, but the device, which cost between $500 and $1,000, broke on its maiden flight. It’s since been repaired but for now, WCAX is sticking with its bucket truck to take high-up photos. “We bought it, played around with it once, broke it, fixed it and put it in a box,” Neary said.