“Senator Rockefeller, the outgoing Chair of the Senate Commerce Committee and a leading privacy champion, introduced a bill to require privacy safeguards in the commercial operation of drones. The Unmanned Aircraft Systems Privacy Act of 2014 would prohibit surveillance of individuals by companies unless explicit prior consent is obtained and would require the development of remote identification transmission technologies for drones. The bill would also provide a private right on action against invasions of privacy in violation of the act and grant the FTC additional authority to regulate on commercial drone privacy issues. EPIC previously testified before Congress in support of a drone privacy law. EPIC recommended data use and retention limitations as well as additional transparency and accountability measures for drone operators. For more information, see EPIC Spotlight on Surveillance: Drones – Eyes in the Sky and EPIC: Domestic Drones.”