Drone video posted on YouTube raises safety, privacy concerns for one Illinois town
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The posting of a YouTube video recorded by a drone flying low over one Chicago-area town is generating concerns about public safety and privacy.
Now city officials in Naperville, Illinois, are exploring what, if anything, can be done on a local level to regulate the operation of such devices, the Daily Herald reports.
The concerns come in the wake of one man’s use of a drone last month to film the town’s holiday lights, which he then set to the music of Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas” and posted on YouTube. John Pauly, the drone operator, said he and two friends have been shooting promotional videos in the area for the possible launch of a commercial-drone video company.
Naperville Police Chief Robert Marshall said the use of drones, which are increasing in popularity, have city officials worried about public safety.
“Our fear is that they’re going to fall out of the sky and hurt someone,” he said.
Marshall said the Federal Aviation Administration, which governs the use of drones, told him that it requires drone operators to be licensed and to keep the devices in sight while in flight. Drone operators are also supposed to keep the devices within 400 feet of the ground and to give warning before flying within five miles of any airport.
But those regulations are “regularly violated,” Marshall said.
City council members instructed Marshall to continue researching potential drone regulations because the use of such devices as a hobby and for commercial purposes is bound to increase.
See also:
ABAJournal.com: “Firms bet on growth potential of drone law”
ABAJournal.com: “Proposed new FAA rules set stage for stricter enforcement against business use of drones”
