As the FAA watches its drone regulation deadlines loom, President Obama intends to issue an executive order that will deal with drone privacy, something that the federal agency hasn’t delved too deeply into. According to Politico, the president plans to put together an executive order asking the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to come up with rules relating to consumer privacy, unmanned aircraft, and the interaction between the two.
Drones are an important topic at the moment, as the technological underpinnings of the product segment quickly mature and regulation lags. The FAA is currently operating a number of drone testing sites around the nation and is expected to come up with regulation on the use of commercial drones.
If the president executes his planned push forward on drone regulation, we could see a wider, more diverse set of rules in place to manage the commercial and private use of the unmanned aircraft.
Drones, which are sometimes referred to as unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, have the potential to shake up a number of markets. Amazon wants to use drones to deliver small packages to its customers, cutting down on shipping times and lessening one of the few remaining advantages that traditional brick-and-mortar stores maintain over their digital competition.
It isn’t immediately clear when the president intends to hit go on the executive order, but pressure from the private sector will certainly mount; for instance, Amazon has formally requested permission to test its drones.