White House Wants To Let Law Enforcement Bring Down Civilian Drones
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It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a small drone that poses a threat!
Big changes may be coming for amateur drone pilots and hobbyists.
The White House is planning to request that law enforcement be able to track and shoot down civilian drones if necessary, according to federal Deputy Chief Technology Officer Michael Kratsios. This initiative has been in development for months and multiple government agencies will be involved, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.
While it's currently technically possible to take control drone using radio-control signals, current aviation and wiretapping regulations prevent the authorities from doing so.
The Federal Aviation Administration is also in the process of drafting regulations that would require some civilian drones to broadcast their identity and location for safety and security purposes.
Recently, the White House restored the FAA's requirement for registration of all small unmanned vehicles, following a brief court-mandated ban on registration. More than 1 million drone operators have registered with the FAA.