Statement of Michael Toscano, President and CEO of AUVSI, On the FAA’s Release of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration Roadmap

Arlington, Va. – Today, Michael Toscano, president & CEO of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), released the following statement on the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Roadmap and privacy policy:

“AUVSI applauds the FAA for taking this important step toward integrating UAS and recognizing the many societal and economic benefits that will follow. From advancing scientific research and responding to natural disasters to locating missing persons and helping to fight wildfires, UAS can save time, save money, and, most importantly, save lives. In addition, the technology will be a boon for our nation’s economy. AUVSI’s economic report projects that the expansion of UAS technology will create more than 100,000 jobs and generate more than $82 billion in economic impact in the first decade following the integration.

“AUVSI also applauds the FAA for setting forth a privacy policy for UAS test sites that affirms the strength of existing federal and state privacy laws. As an industry, we believe privacy is important, and that the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and subsequent court decisions provide a robust legal framework that protects Americans’ right to privacy. 

“In requiring UAS test sites to have a written plan for data use and retention, the FAA also appropriately focuses on the real issue when it comes to privacy – the use, storage and sharing of data, or whether data collected must be deleted. This dovetails with AUVSI’s position that any privacy laws must be platform neutral, treating manned and unmanned platforms the same. UAS are one of many platforms that could be used for collecting data. Privacy policies should focus on how data is collected and used, as opposed to focusing on the specific platform that is doing the collecting.”

Click here to see the FAA’s Roadmap.

Click here to read FAA Administrator Huerta's speech. 

The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) — the world's largest nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of unmanned systems — represents more than 7,000 members from 55 allied countries and 2,500 organizations involved in the fields of government, industry and academia.