Trump Bill Reinstates FAA’s Drone Registry

The FAA Drone Registry is back on, courtesy of a bill signed into law earlier today by President Trump. The reinstated rules were one small piece of the $700 billion National Defense Authorization Act.

In a statement to TechCrunch, an FAA spokesperson unsurprisingly gave the rules the thumbs up.

“We welcome the reinstatement of registration rules for all small unmanned aircraft,” the FAA said. “Ownership identification helps promote safe and responsible drone operation and is a key component to full integration.”

The initial ruling was shot down this spring after the appeals court determined that the FAA didn’t have the authority to regulate model aircraft; 838,620 people registered drones in that first go-round. The FAA anticipated that 2.3 million consumer drones would be sold this year in the U.S. alone, adding that it was going back to the drawing board with the regulation.

“The FAA put registration and operational regulations in place to ensure that drones are operated in a way that is safe and does not pose security and privacy threats,” It said in a statement at the time. “We are in the process of considering our options and response to the decision.”

The newly signed H.R.2810 states as follows under Section 1092:

“The rules adopted by the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration in the matter of registration and marking requirements for small unmanned aircraft … that were vacated by the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in Taylor v. Huerta … shall be restored to effect on the date of enactment of this Act.”

The registry requires all drones weighing between 0.55 and 55 pounds be entered in the database. The full run down of rules can be found here.

Photo: President Donald Trump signs the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2017, in Washington –  Evan Vucci / AP

Source: TechCrunch