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On June 21, 2016, the FAA issued its long-awaited regulations governing “Small Unmanned Aircraft,” or drone operation.　 The regulations allow the use of drones weighing less than 55 pounds, traveling less than 100 mph groundspeed, and up to 400 feet above the ground, for a wide variety of purposes during daylight hours.　 The regulations allow…

The Article 29 Working Party has published an Opinion (01/2015) about the data protection and privacy issues in relation to the utilisation of drones.
The Working Party acknowledges the social and economic benefits of drones within the aviation market and the opportunities that could develop for law enforcement agencies, but emphasises that risks and threats to individuals’ privacy will also increase through a large-scale deployment of drone and sensor technology.

While the commercial use of drones would be subject to the 28 members states’ national data protection laws, generally at the EU level there is no specific data protection legislation for personal or governmental use of drones. Drones also present several unique challenges because of the manner in which personal data can be processed; for instance, through images, sound, geolocation, and the potential to interconnect multiple drones, as well as the potential for them to be used to gather information from areas that would not ordinarily be public, such as over walls, fences, or other barriers without the need for a direct line of sight. The potential for data collection from such unique vantage points increases the risk that individuals will be less aware that their personal data is being processed, in turn reducing transparency and increasing the possible intrusion into individuals’ privacy.Continue Reading Drones and their data protection implications: Guidance provided by Article 29 Working Party

The oracle of Silicon Valley, Mary Meeker – a partner at Kleiner Perkins – just published her highly anticipated 2015 Internet Trends Report.  Meeker’s report is the ultimate compilation of essential technology statistics, and is one of the most widely read and respected insights into the future of the Internet and technology trends.

Encompassing everything from smartphone penetration to drones, messaging apps to India as the next Internet penetration growth market, Meeker, in 197 slides, does a deep dive into technology trends and provides an optimistic future for growth, especially in education, government and health care.

The entire report is well worth the time to read, but below we have highlighted some of the key takeaways.
Continue Reading Into the Future

An artist photographed his neighbors through their windows, allegedly without their knowledge.  When the neighbors sued, a New York state court dismissed the case for failure to state a claim.  Now the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division has affirmed that ruling.  Martha G. Foster, et al. v. Arne Svenson, index number 651826/13, in…

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has long been studying the promise and perils of small unmanned aircraft systems (“UAS”), a.k.a. drones. The commercial potential of UAS technology is clear. Businesses are eager to use UAS to do everything from covering traffic accidents to taking real estate and wedding photos to delivering small parcels. However, the…