Industry supports collaborative effort to promote safe and responsible UAS use
ARLINGTON, Va. – Brian Wynne, president & CEO of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), today issued the following statement on the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) release of voluntary privacy best practices for the commercial and recreational use of UAS.
“AUVSI is proud to have participated in the NTIA process, which brought together stakeholders across the UAS industry and civil liberties organizations. This collaborative effort resulted in best practices that will help facilitate the safe and responsible use of UAS, while also ensuring that the UAS industry continues to grow and thrive.
“The work of this presidentially directed initiative provides clear, consistent federal privacy guidance which addresses many of the concerns that have been raised in states and municipalities around the country. Rather than create a complicated patchwork of new laws to address privacy, AUVSI encourages states and municipalities to allow commercial operators to adopt these uniform, federal privacy best practices. Clear, consistent, national frameworks, such as this, are critical for the timely and safe integration of UAS into the national airspace.
“AUVSI looks forward to working with the NTIA stakeholders and other UAS industry partners to educate operators and increase public awareness of these federal best practices.”
In February 2015, President Obama instructed the NTIA to convene a process to develop and communicate best practices for privacy, accountability, and transparency regarding commercial and private UAS use in the National Airspace System (NAS). The privacy best practices released today are the culmination of a multi-stakeholder effort that included industry representatives such as AUVSI, civil liberties groups and other UAS stakeholders.