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Like a drone falling out of the sky:
The Federal Aviation Administration's requirement that hobby drone users register their devices was struck down in an appeals court Friday.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled in favor of John Taylor, a drone hobbyist who had challenged the legality of the FAA's drone-registration program.
The program, which was instituted in December 2015, required hobby drone owners to register through an FAA website for a $5 fee. Drone hobbyists were then issued a unique identification, which they were required to mark on their drones. Within the first month, nearly 300,000 drone owners had registered.
Previously:
All Drones in U.S. to Require Federal Registration
FAA Drone Registry to be Publicly Searchable
Drones and RC Models Must be Registered by February 16[, 2016]
Nearly 300,000 Recreational Drone Owners in U.S. Database
(Score: 2) by linkdude64 on Saturday May 20 2017, @07:11PM (3 children)
I doubt it'll happen, but it'd be nice, in principle, to get that $5 back with interest, as it was unlawfully taken from citizens who already pay enough taxes to support representatives who are apparently more concerned with increasing regulations than defending their freedoms and privileges.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by edIII on Saturday May 20 2017, @08:06PM (2 children)
I dunno. There are two sides to that coin. These are not toys the FAA went after, but drones that could actually hurt people if used incorrectly. Not to mention, the invasion of privacy and all other sorts of bad shit that can go on with unregistered drones flying everywhere. You'll probably change your tune if you had a bunch of drones constantly buzzing overhead, and crashes with injuries become more prevalent.
The thing I liked most about the whole program was the filing of flight plans. Anybody doing commercial business with drones should be filing flight plans, and the FAA should be able to establish airways above neighborhoods and allow property owners some privacy.
I'm okay with your Wild West attitude to drones, if you're okay with me having a high powered rifle shooting them out of the sky when they violate my perimeter.
Technically, lunchtime is at any moment. It's just a wave function.
(Score: 2) by art guerrilla on Saturday May 20 2017, @10:42PM
i don't know, sticks are not toys, you know, someone could POKE AN EYE OUT...
better register all stick owners of 6" or more...
i don't know, stones are not toys, you know, someone could hit your eyeglasses and POKE AN EYE OUT...
better register all stone owners of 1 oz or more...
i don't know, driving metal boxes around filled with explosive liquid is not a toy, you know, someone could blow up and -even worse- POKE AN EYE OUT...
better not let those death machines loose at all ! ! !
i don't know, playing with balls inside the house is dangerous, you know, someone could break some china and subsequently POKE AN EYE OUT...
better all wear bubbles 24/7/365...
an infinitude of otherwise harmless things COULD result in some bad outcome (mostly poking eyes out, according to parents), BUT THEY ALMOST NEVER DO...
(how many of your friends actually ended up with their eyes poked out after they did stupid things ? ? ? thought so, we'd all be blind...)
but, hey, let's guide the use of EVERYTHING in the universe based on the 1-in-a-million worst outcome...
suck it up, buttercup, or i'll poke your fucking eyes out...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 21 2017, @01:15AM
It's a free endless supply of drone parts for yourself. And since they won't have any registration tags to prove it is theirs, they will have a hard time proving it isn't YOURS :)
Now to build a microwave gun to zap these things down without doing too much damage to the pricey bits! :)