3 Privacy Challenges Drone Startups Face
Drones are wildly useful and informative tools, making the collection of a vast amount of data possible in a single flight incredibly easy to do. Although the industry has seen massive growth in the last few years, the waters are still a bit murky when it comes to navigating privacy issues. There is little regulation in place to help guide commercial unmanned-aircraft companies in this realm, and advocacy groups are working hard to help put legislation in place to protect the public. This presents several challenges for drone startups in the coming years.
1) Public Sentiment
The public hasn’t quite warmed up to drones just yet. Safety and drone malfunction is the biggest concern, according to a study by the USPS, but there are also strong fears of privacy violations with unregulated aircraft, with their cameras and sensors taking in images of all that the device sees, potentially including surveillance images when flying over private property. Nobody wants a drone seeing what you do in the comfort of your own home through your windows, even in your backyard as they fly under the federally regulated altitude limit of 400 feet overhead.
The study, which assessed public perception of drone delivery in the United States, found that 52 percent of respondents worry about “intentional misuse,” 31 percent of which stating that drones “might not be used in a way that respects my privacy.”
The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) — an advocacy group based in Washington, DC — emphasizes public sentiment on the topic, stating “these programs could collect information on the actions of every citizen, without regard to suspicion or any connection to a crime.”
2) Security
There is a massive amount of incoming data with commercial drones — from facial recognition, GPS location, and their photographic evidence, to acceleration, temperature and heat sensors, among many other capabilities; thus, drones have unique privacy risks. Keeping all of that information secure requires more than an encrypted Wi-Fi signal and password protection. The reality is that drones, just like any other software, have the potential to be hacked, as evidenced on several occasions on both the governmental and personal levels. As there are no laws enforcing this issue at the moment, there’s not a pressing need to create highly sophisticated software to protect against such vulnerability.
But if privacy laws are introduced and enforced, and they likely will be, how will drone startups comply? Implementation may require complex software that understands best practices around data, and mapping such abstract concepts like data privacy to the physical world can be difficult. It may be best to start consulting with companies that specialize in drone information security now before new laws are put in place that may completely change the way your commercial drone startup operates.
3) Uncertainty Surrounding Regulations
Currently, there is no governing body for regulating drones. While the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is responsible for drone policy in regards to safety, there are no laws against, for instance, a drone being able to take photos of all the license plates at a health clinic and sell them to an insurance agency, an argument made by Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey when proposing The Drone Aircraft Privacy and Transparency Act.
“Drones flying overhead could collect very sensitive and personally identifiable information about millions of Americans, but right now, we don’t have sufficient safeguards in place to protect our privacy,” Markey told the Science and Transportation Committee in March 2017. The legislation has not progressed since its introduction.
Drone startups do have a list of best practices to follow, published by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration in 2016 and endorsed by then-President Barack Obama, but the guidelines are voluntary. They include notifying the public when drones will be in flight and sharing a privacy policy explaining the type of data that will be collected and what it will be used for.
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There is a lot of uncertainty when forging new pathways in a nascent industry, as with any innovation, and drones are tearing down rigid and traditional barriers in industries which otherwise seemed impenetrable as well. Upstate Interactive recognizes the profound impact the commercial use of drones is having on our society and the challenges drone startups face when it comes to innovation and marketing.
To schedule a free consultation with a member of our team and start working on a strategy to overcome these privacy challenges, click here.
