Drones have emerged as a transformative and innovative technology, with users ranging from state agencies to commercial companies to everyday citizens. As such, state legislatures have begun to take up the topic, debating how and if drone technology should be regulated. Since 2013, at least 44 States have enacted laws regarding drones.1 This year there have already been over 180 drone measures introduced, with fifteen having been enacted.  

The Problem 

These measures concern a wide variety of topics, but consistently we are seeing legislation introduced to address issues of privacy, peeping, stalking, trespass, and delivery of contraband to correctional facilities. While these issues are important to address, the measures that do so are often overbroad, drone-specific, and unnecessary, creating new regulations where ones already exist.  

The most efficient and best way to ensure these crimes are protected is simply to leverage existing law that already addresses these concerns and apply them to drones. This gets rid of any regulatory grey area, without having to introduce countless measures that may end up out of scope.  

The Solution 

Drone Prepared, AUVSI’s fifty state educational campaign that includes model legislation, does just that. The legislation, which was recently enacted into law in Mississippi, is industry-supported and paves the way for safe operations. The model code efficiently and effectively addresses all of the above concerns, simply stating: 

“A person is guilty of an offense committed with the aid of an uncrewed aircraft system if the uncrewed aircraft system is under the person’s control and the activity performed with the aid of the uncrewed aircraft system would have given rise to liability for the offense under the laws of this State if it was performed directly by the person without the aid of an uncrewed aircraft system.” 

This clarifies that crimes such as peeping, stalking, trespass, and civil violations such as violation of privacy, all of which are already prohibited in State laws, are still prohibited when done through the use of a drone. In regulating all these common concerns in one fell swoop, Drone Prepared addresses these issues without copious unnecessary measures. By our count, for this session alone, Drone Prepared would deem almost twenty different measures redundant.  

Drone Prepared is smart policy making that will foster a regulatory environment that enables the burgeoning drone industry without infringing upon existing airspace authorities. The model legislation, in codifying that airspace regulation lies with the FAA while ensuring that current civil and criminal law applies to drones, prevents additional burdensome regulations and creates a secure and cohesive regulatory environment in which commercial drone operations can thrive.  

Learn more about Drone Prepared at DronePrepared.org and download the campaign’s legal whitepaper analyzing state airspace law.