Senate Commerce Seeks Update on FAA Drone Progress as EPIC Presses for Privacy Answers

The Senate Commerce Committee's Wednesday hearing on drones will be "an opportunity to receive an update on the [Federal Aviation Administration's] progress on the Congressional mandates from 2012 and 2016," Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., will say, according to an excerpt of his opening remarks provided by the committee. "We will examine the successes and the challenges the FAA has faced in the effort to safely integrate drones into the national airspace.” The hearing will feature witnesses from the FAA and industry, including Diana Marina Cooper, vice president-legal and policy affairs with drone company PrecisionHawk. In her prepared testimony emailed by the company, she says the FAA should provide more waivers for testing aircraft beyond the visual line of sight or over people. Cooper, who also is president of the Small UAV Coalition, plans to say expanding and accelerating such operations will help spur innovation and economic growth. PrecisionHawk has been testing extended visual line of sight operations and it's focusing on creating a safety case to mitigate risks, she adds. The FAA was expected to issue proposed regulations for drone flights over people by the end of December, but may have been delayed, in part, by the Trump administration's regulatory freeze (see 1701250027). Proposed rules for beyond visual line of sight are expected later this year. Meanwhile, the Electronic Privacy Information Center sent Thune and ranking member Bill Nelson, D-Fla., a letter Monday, urging them to ask the FAA why it hasn't developed drone privacy regulations despite being directed by Congress to do so. EPIC is suing the agency over the issue (see 1702280006), saying the FAA Modernization Act identified "privacy as an important issue to address" as part of a comprehensive plan to integrate drones into the national airspace.