Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), commonly referred to as “drones,” have gained media attention ... more Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), commonly referred to as “drones,” have gained media attention over the last several years with much of the focus centering on their military uses and their emerging role in newsgathering. News organizations, journalists, and private citizens have employed UAVs to capture and share breaking news, to provide glimpses of natural disasters that would otherwise be too hazardous for journalists to obtain, and to offer unique perspectives that enrich news storytelling. At the same time, media scholars have emphasized the need to better understand the privacy and ethical concerns surrounding UAVs. Legal restrictions to and implications of their use have been relatively unexplored. Given that evolving rules and regulations put in place by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) may ground UAVs for journalistic purposes, it is important to understand what those legal barriers are and what they mean for the future of UAVs as tools for journalism. This paper advances by noting key benefits UAVs offer journalism before explicating the evolving rules and regulations of the FAA and how those are shaping the use of UAVs for journalism by private citizens, journalists, and news organizations.
Unmanned aircraft systems (UASs), commonly referred to as drones, have rocketed to public attenti... more Unmanned aircraft systems (UASs), commonly referred to as drones, have rocketed to public attention in the last decade, largely as a result of the U.S. military’s use of this technology in the “War on Terror.” As UASs have come home and have been put to a growing number of uses in domestic airspace, the Federal Aviation Administration has attempted to ban their commercial use. Efforts to enforce this ban have included sending dozens of cease-and-desist letters to UAS operators and even one attempt to levy a $10,000 fine. Most often, these UAS operators have been engaging in aerial photography, sometimes for news-gathering purposes. To date, little attention has been paid to the First Amendment implications of the ban. This article argues that aerial photography with UASs, whether commercial or not, is protected First Amendment activity, particularly for news-gathering purposes. The FAA must take First Amendment– protected uses of this technology into account as it proceeds with meeting its congressional mandate to promulgate rules for domestic UASs.
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), commonly referred to as “drones,” have gained media attention ... more Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), commonly referred to as “drones,” have gained media attention over the last several years with much of the focus centering on their military uses and their emerging role in newsgathering. News organizations, journalists, and private citizens have employed UAVs to capture and share breaking news, to provide glimpses of natural disasters that would otherwise be too hazardous for journalists to obtain, and to offer unique perspectives that enrich news storytelling. At the same time, media scholars have emphasized the need to better understand the privacy and ethical concerns surrounding UAVs. Legal restrictions to and implications of their use have been relatively unexplored. Given that evolving rules and regulations put in place by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) may ground UAVs for journalistic purposes, it is important to understand what those legal barriers are and what they mean for the future of UAVs as tools for journalism. This paper advances by noting key benefits UAVs offer journalism before explicating the evolving rules and regulations of the FAA and how those are shaping the use of UAVs for journalism by private citizens, journalists, and news organizations.
Unmanned aircraft systems (UASs), commonly referred to as drones, have rocketed to public attenti... more Unmanned aircraft systems (UASs), commonly referred to as drones, have rocketed to public attention in the last decade, largely as a result of the U.S. military’s use of this technology in the “War on Terror.” As UASs have come home and have been put to a growing number of uses in domestic airspace, the Federal Aviation Administration has attempted to ban their commercial use. Efforts to enforce this ban have included sending dozens of cease-and-desist letters to UAS operators and even one attempt to levy a $10,000 fine. Most often, these UAS operators have been engaging in aerial photography, sometimes for news-gathering purposes. To date, little attention has been paid to the First Amendment implications of the ban. This article argues that aerial photography with UASs, whether commercial or not, is protected First Amendment activity, particularly for news-gathering purposes. The FAA must take First Amendment– protected uses of this technology into account as it proceeds with meeting its congressional mandate to promulgate rules for domestic UASs.
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Research by Sean Lawson
Research Papers by Sean Lawson