Remote ID is Coming to an Airspace Near You
Drones allow businesses to speed their operations and cut their costs all the while enhancing workplace safety. After a decade of successful deployment, it’s hard to argue with the commercial advantages of properly registered and skillfully deployed drones. But with so many drones now in operation, the need to reign in drone excesses is growing, too. One obvious concern is the need to protect citizen privacy and to deter corporate spying. Another is to discourage unwarranted intrusions, mostly accidental, into strictly controlled airspaces, including flights over airports, government buildings, and public gatherings.
In December 2019, the FAA began a regulatory review to determine how such excesses might be curbed. Out of these discussions came the proposal to require all FAA-registered drones – about 800,000 currently – to be equipped with a sensor code that allows law enforcement authorities to identify their owner, location and altitude while the aircraft is in flight. The FAA received over 53,000 comments on the proposed rule during the 60-day comment period and spent another 18 months crafting and refining its language. Under the final rule, published in April 2021, all drone operators must agree to modify their aircraft with a Remote ID module or modify their inboard software to allow for remote identification.
There are exceptions. Some drones that fly in designated areas within visual line of sight of tracking stations will be exempt from Remote ID. In addition, smaller drones already exempt from FAA training and registration requirements won’t be required to adopt Remote ID. Moreover, Remote ID won’t go into effect until September 2023, which gives registered drone operators ample time to make the necessary adjustments. Nevertheless, the FAA clearly means business: Failure to comply with the new regulation could result in a stiff fine and up to three years in jail for egregious and recurring violations.
Despite extensive input, some drone industry stakeholders believe Remote ID is an unwarranted intrusion of its own. On March 17, 2021, RaceDayQuads (RDQ) an online store selling FPV drone equipment, announced that its founder Tyler Brennan had filed an appeal against the FAA to try to block Remote ID’s pending publication in the Federal Register. In its 155-page appeal, RDQ claimed that Remote ID’s mandatory retrofitting costs placed an undue financial burden on drone manufacturers and purchasers that could unduly weaken sales in the drone market. The appeal also suggested that Remote ID could lead to an abridgment of the 4th amendment rights of drone owners to fly their drones on their own property without restriction. However, on July 29, 2022, the RDQ appeal was soundly rejected by the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
The arrival of Remote ID may well signal the end of the drone industry’s carefree, early adoption days. Remote ID won’t eliminate all unwanted drone intrusions, especially among unregistered drone operators. But increasing the likelihood that drone trespassers will be identified and more easily fined or prosecuted should provide a powerful deterrent to such intrusions.
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