FAA Bill Speeds Path for More U.S. Drone Flights
(WSJ) “A broad funding bill for the Federal Aviation Administration, which was released this week and is expected to win final approval before the middle of February, for the first time establishes specific deadlines designed to speed up the widespread use of unmanned planes, or drones, across the U.S. On Friday, the House passed the package in a 248-169 vote.
“The bill calls for integrating a wide range of so-called unmanned aerial vehicles—operated by both governmental and corporate entities—with commercial and general aviation traffic across the nation’s skies by September 2015.”
Not surprisingly, some see looming civil rights issues over the use of the drones. Said one reader in the online comments section of the story:
“Now law-abiding American citizens are going to find themselves subjected to the same kind of surveillance that we applied to enemy armed forces in the field. This is not only a technology leap but also a dramatic shift in the attitude the government takes toward its own citizens — they are ALL potential enemies and need to be carefully watched. Not a good sign.”