FAA Has Authorized 106 Government ‘Entities’ to Fly Domestic Drones

By Terence P. Jeffrey

Since Jan. 1 of this year, according to congressional testimony presented Thursday by the Government Accountability Office, the Federal Aviation Administration has authorized 106 federal, state and local government “entities” to fly “unmanned aircraft systems,” also known as drones, within U.S. airspace.

“We are now on the edge of a new horizon: using unmanned aerial systems within the homeland,” House Homeland Security Oversight Subcommittee Chairman Michael McCaul (R.-Texas) said as he introduced the testimony.

“Currently,” said McCaul, “there are about 200 active Certificates of Authorization issued by the Federal Aviation Administration to over 100 different entities, such as law enforcement departments and academic institutions, to fly drones domestically.”

panel’s Thursday hearing, McCaul showed a map of the United States with markers indicating the locations where–as of April–government entities had been approved by the FAA to fly drones.

“The number of recipients since that time has increased,” McCaul noted.

GAO testified that the FAA’s long-term goal is to permit drones to operate in U.S. airspace “to the greatest extent possible.”

The proliferation of domestic drones, GAO said, raises a number of issues, the first of which is the right to privacy.

“First is privacy as it relates to the collection and use of surveillance data,” Gerald L. Dillingham, GAO’s director of Physical Infrastructure Issues told the House Homeland Subcommittee on Oversight on Thursday.

“Members of Congress, civil liberties organizations and civilians have expressed concerns that the potential increased use of UAS in the national airspace by law enforcement or for commercial purposes has potential privacy implications,” said Dillingham. “Currently, no federal agency has specific statutory responsibility to regulate privacy matters relating to UAS. Stakeholders have told us that by developing guidelines for the appropriate use of UASs ahead of widespread proliferation could in fact preclude abuses of the technology and negative public perceptions of the potential uses that are planned for these aircraft.”

0 comments

Comments:

Add your comment

Nickname:

E-mail:

Website:

Comment:

Other articlesgo to homepage

	How the FBIs online wiretapping plan could get your computer hacked(0) The FBI is pushing for expanded power to eavesdrop on private Internet communications. The law enforcement agency wants to force online service providers to build wiretapping capabilities into their products. But a group of prominent computer security experts argues that mandating “back doors” in online communications products is likely to compromise the security of Americans’ computers and

	Cell phone users ‘have no legitimate expectation of privacy’ – judge(0) A federal judge recently ruled that if someone has their cell phone turned on, their location data does not deserve protection under the Fourth Amendment, meaning law enforcement can track individuals without a search warrant. New York magistrate judge Gary Brown decided in favor of Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents who were seeking his approval

	Microsoft is reading your Skype instant messages…(0) Is Microsoft reading your Skype instant messages? That’s the inflammatory allegation that a UK-based security blog made in a post earlier today: Anyone who uses Skype has consented to the company reading everything they write. The H’s associates in Germany at heise Security have now discovered that the Microsoft subsidiary does in fact make use

	IRS to Spy on Our Shopping Records, Travel, Social Interactions(0) Washington’s Blog We noted in March that all U.S. intelligence agencies – including the CIA and NSA – are going to spy on Americans’ finances. The IRS is joining the fun. U.S. News and World Report notes today: [The IRS] will use in robo-audits and data mining [and] it has told government and industry groups

	Is GPS Technology Now a Threat to National Security?(0) Nicholas West Activist Post GPS tracking and positioning technology was brought to us by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), commonly known as the “mad science” element of military development. Apparently, DARPA has done such a good job thoroughly embedding GPS into military applications, as well as permitting it to trickle down to “civilian

Contacts and information

USAHM News has been censored twice before.. We provide citizens with alternative news that the MSM doesnt cover.. Dont become brainwashed by all the lies and propaganda! Join the fight against the NWO.. Contact us if you would like to become a writer for our website. Remember if you dont stand up for your rights, who will?