WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Alphabet Inc’s drone delivery unit Wing criticized Trump’s administration rules, issued this week, requiring remote identification of drones by transmission, saying they should be revised to allow for Internet-based tracking .
On Monday, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued rules that will allow small drones to fly over people and at night in the United States and requires remote identification technology for almost all drones.
The rules remove requirements for drones, formally known as unmanned aerial vehicles, to be connected to the Internet to transmit location data, but require that they transmit remote ID messages via radio frequency.
“This approach creates barriers to compliance and will have unintended negative impacts on the privacy of businesses and consumers,” Wing said on Thursday in a blog post, adding that “an observer tracking a drone can infer sensitive information about specific users, including where they visit, spend time, and live and where customers receive packages and when. “
Wing added that “American communities would not accept this type of surveillance in their deliveries or road taxi trips. They should not accept this in heaven. “
Wing called on the FAA to expand the ways in which operators can meet identification requirements.
The FAA said on Thursday that it received and addressed “more than 50,000 public comments on the proposed remote identification rule, which will promote the safe integration of drones into the national airspace system.”
The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International said the remote ID will function as “a digitally enrolled fordrone”.
Drone manufacturers will have 18 months to start producing drones with Remote ID and operators will have another year to provide Remote ID.
Wing argues that Internet-based tracking “allows a drone to be identified as it flies, without necessarily sharing that drone’s entire flight path or flight history.”
Chinese drone maker SZ DJI Technology Co said this week that “it has long supported the FAA’s remote identification initiative because it will increase the responsibility, security and protection of drones … We are reviewing the final rule to understand how DJI can take steps to meet FAA standards future requirements. “
Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by David Gregorio