Drone Owners Will Now Have to Register With the US Government

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Drone Owners Will Now Have to Register With the US Government

Hobby drones have come under heavy criticism recently for interfering with firefighting efforts and flying too close to airports. According to NBC News, the Department of Transportation plans to have all drones in the country registered by Christmas.

On Monday, the US DOT will supposedly announce the program, working with manufacturers to create a national registry. NBC’s Tom Costello also reports that the government will create a specific taskforce just for drones.

Cities have run up against major challenges when it comes to finding and prosecuting drone operators who break the law or damage property. The FAA has offered rewards to find drones that hampered rescue efforts for wildfires in California, for example, but it’s tough to find those who are abusing their drone-owning privileges. Although we’ve heard rumors of potential regulations from the FAA side, this DOT news is surprising. And it seems like a gargantuan effort that will take a lot longer than two months to roll out.

[NBC News via The Verge]

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the puppet masterAlissa Walker
10/16/15 7:51pm

how are they planing on dealing with the diy market. I can see this now. Company A sells you an air-frame with motors. Company B sells you the electronics. Both are own by the same umbrella corporation, because synergy. How are they going to regulate that. What about china. Sure it might be easy to force ebay to comply with us law, but what about alibaba

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- x19-tr6-928the puppet master
  10/16/15 7:54pm
  
  Most likely similar to how they do firearms. One piece say, the main crossmember, or the flight computer will get a serial, that piece will be the drone in the eyes of the law. Just my guess.
  
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- clickSuckathe puppet master
  10/16/15 8:25pm
  
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- the puppet masterx19-tr6-928
  10/16/15 8:26pm
  
  flight controller? you mean the smaller that credit card thing no-one in customs is going to care about. its not the same as a lower receiver.
  
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- the puppet masterthe puppet master
  10/16/15 8:28pm
  
  what about pi or Arduino with community built software.
  
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