Privacy Advocate, Industry Echo Differences on NTIA-Driven Best Practices Drone Guide Progress

Amie Stepanovich, U.S. policy manager for Access Now, said there's agreement within the working group on smaller, more noncontroversial items such as the need for privacy policies that are publicly available, but no consensus on data use, collection and retention policies. She said the document should have stronger and clearer language specifically on privacy, especially as millions more drones are expected over the next few years. She said it’s not easy to develop a privacy guide that’s meaningful to both commercial operators and hobbyists: "We want to build a culture that respects privacy."

While the overall experience of the working group has been positive, Stepanovich said, representation from privacy and civil society groups is small, with participants from only Access Now and New America's Open Technology Institute. A larger presence from such groups would provide different perspectives and more expertise on some issues, she said. Unlike some working group participants interviewed for this story, Stepanovich wasn't as optimistic about a multistakeholder consensus on a best practices document. "I'm not saying it's impossible, but it's going to take a good deal of work," she said. "We're not on the verge of a best practices document."

Up to 20 participants have met three to four times in the working group, reviewing two drafts -- one from the Hogan Lovells law firm, which hosted the meetings, and another offered by the Center for Democracy and Technology -- that were presented during the November NTIA multistakeholder meeting (see 1511200050), some participants said in interviews. The working group has been reconciling areas of agreement and leaving the more "contentious" issues to be discussed by the larger multistakeholder group in January, they said.

Ryan Hagemann, technology and civil liberties policy analyst with the Niskanen Center, acknowledged some privacy issues need to be resolved but said progress has been good. He said he's hopeful the larger multistakeholder group could reach consensus on a document by February, saying he thinks they're about 75 to 80 percent complete. Alan McQuinn, research assistant with the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation who also attended all the recent working group meetings, said there has been a "little bickering" over the finer details, but there's general optimism that the process is moving forward, with consensus around data security requirements and other issues. He also expected consensus by the larger NTIA multistakeholder in the first part of 2016.

"I definitely feel there's good movement forward," said Carl Szabo, policy counsel for NetChoice, though he wouldn't predict whether that would translate into general consensus by the larger NTIA-hosted group. "The fundamental question we need to ask ourselves is if we make this overly restrictive, will people adopt it," he said, saying the document should be something that both businesses and consumers want to use as a tool. He also said he has drafted several bullet points that could be included on every drone that's sold for recreational purposes. The points would focus on registration, knowledge of laws, safe operation, respect for privacy and safety issues and other concerns.

"There’s a challenge in getting consumers to pay attention to important tools, tips and recommendations when they use a new product," said Szabo. "It’s important for us to keep that in mind as we design any sort of best practices that we make these easily digestible and the type of thing that people can see and interpret almost at a glance."