My Z News

Amazon drones aren’t taking off anytime soon — at least not until the Federal Aviation Administration says otherwise.

On Monday, in a document inviting public comment on drone policy, the FAA clarified that delivering packages using a drone isn’t legal.

The agency didn’t mention Amazon in the document specifically. But the FAA seemed to suggest that Amazon — like every other business — falls under its regulations which, they say, already prohibits the commercial use of drones.

Amazon, though, was unmoved. This “has no effect on our plans,” said Paul Misener, Vice President of Global Public Policy for Amazon. “This is about hobbyists and model aircrafts, not Amazon.”

In its “Notice of Interpretation with Request for Comment,” the FAA included a list of activities that are not permitted under current regulations, including “delivering packages to people for a fee,” as first noted by Ars Technica.

In a footnote, the FAA clarified that even if the shipping is free or offered as part of a “purchase or other offer,” it still would be considered a commercial use of drones and thus not allowed.

Brendan Schulman, a lawyer who specializes in drones, said the FAA is trying to reassert its authority by reiterating that these kinds of uses are not permitted.

The legal status of drones in the U.S. is complicated. According to the FAA, only amateurs and people with a special FAA permission — a so-called Certificate of Authority — are legally permitted to fly drones, though that has been disputed.

This spring, a federal Appeals Court judge ruled that FAA drone regulation isn’t valid since the agency didn’t ask for public comment when initially drafting the drone rules, which is a federal requirement. The FAA is appealing the ruling and, in the meantime, insists that no commercial use of drones is allowed.

The agency is supposed to publish new rules on drones by 2015, and developers are in a race to be ready with products for what is believed will be a multi-billion dollar market. In the meantime, it has allowed some universities, research organizations and law-enforcement agencies to use drones in a limited way.

On June 10, the FAA announced that BP had permission to fly drones, the first time a company was granted permission to fly a drone over American land.

Read more: http://mashable.com/2014/06/24/faa-amazon-drones-2/