Hello, and welcome! I am ZmunkZ, or if you prefer, Mike. I am educated in physics and mathematics, I work in software and databases, and I am a student of VFX, writing, 3D CGI, guitar, poker, and a variety of other things. This site is where I go to talk to myself. Note: the FDA has ruled this site unsafe for casual or professional consumption.4/25/16 UPDATE: The cited article below is mistaken. Thanks to John for checking into that!
I’ve been following this case since early January when a Maryland man named James Taylor filed suit against the FAA for a new law that requires all of us drone owners to register our information in a public database. I’ve been waiting patiently (without registering) to see how this settles, and unfortunately, the outcome is not good:
The basis of the lawsuit was that the new regulation violated Section 336 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, which stated that none of the regulations the FAA might set forth could be applied to model aircrafts, elsewhere defined to mean aircrafts used for entirely hobby purposes. That being the case, it didn’t make sense that hobby drones were suddenly compelled to operate under these new regulatory codes. There was also some concern about the hasty and over-reaching manner the FAA employed to get this law on the books before Christmas of 2015.
My own biggest issue, is that of privacy. I don’t want my information and address public, nor the fact I own a drone. This isn’t a handgun we are talking about, it’s a toy for taking cool pictures. Sure, it can be abused, and idiots might fly it over a highway and crash, but you get irresponsible people in every walk of life… since when has the answer been, register everything publicly so it is traceable?
Well anyway, that is my rant of the day. Now I just need to decide what I do… register, or let this thing sit on the table for a while. *sigh*
The Taylor lawsuit was not dismissed. The author of the cited article simply read the court docket incorrectly. The suit that was dismissed was one filed by a “think tank” and consolidated with the Taylor case. The think tank’s lawsuit was filed approximately 45 minutes after the statute of limitations had expired.
The Taylor case is awaiting a briefing schedule from the court. There is also a pending Motion for Summary Disposition filed by Taylor.
Of course, the bigger problem right now is Congress.
John Taylor
I appreciate you checking into that, and I see you are quite right. It is very good to hear this is not a closed and settled issue. Fingers crossed!
So glad to hear that it was not thrown out of court. We are still waiting for the outcome of this case. I have been waiting to hear what the courts had to say. I also dont think its right for our kids to register their private information. There are a lot of sexual predators out there. If people can hack bank accounts and what not.. I am sure they can hack in to the system and find out where kids live. This is just my opinion.