EPIC to FAA: Drone Advisory Committee Needs Privacy and Security Experts

EPIC has sent a letter to the Federal Aviation Administration, urging the agency to name privacy and security experts to the Drone Advisory Committee. EPIC filed suit last year to enforce the transparency obligations of the industry-dominated Committee, which conducted much of its work in secret. EPIC's case forced the Advisory Committee to release hundreds of documents that it unlawfully withheld. The documents obtained by EPIC show that the Committee recognized drone privacy risks and even planned to form a "Privacy Subcommittee." Yet the Committee entirely failed to address privacy issues before making final policy recommendations to the FAA. The FAA has recently come under criticism from members of Congress and the Department of Defense concerning commercial drones that enable remote surveillance.