One of the biggest questions people have had about America’s upcoming drone registry is whether or not the personal information that’s given to the government as part of the registration process will be public. It’s not that the question hasn’t been answered, it’s that two contradictory answers have been given, with the DOT claiming that the registry will be public, and the FAA claiming that it won’t. However, after contacting the FAA for clarity, a Forbes contributor by the name of John Goglia learned that the registry will be public, and that information such as addresses and names will be fully searchable.
On Monday, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is set to launch its online drone registry in an attempt to gather identifying information on drones and their operators. Until now, the details of the registry have been rather vague, but the major point of contention has been in two contradictory statements from the FAA and the Department of Transportation (DOT). The FAA has said that only agency representatives will have access to the personal information, while the DOT says that this information will be made public. John Goglia, a Forbes contributor, reached out to the FAA and got this comment: “Until the drone registry system is modified, the FAA will not release names and address [sic]. When the drone registry system is modified to permit public searches of registration numbers, names and addresses will be revealed through those searches.” So, for the time being it appears that your information, as a drone owner, is set to go public if it’s on the registry. That is, if groups like the Academy of Model Aeronautics can’t put the kibosh on the registry entirely.
