The Federal Aviation Administration has rolled out a database that contains information on the location of each registered owner of small unmanned aircraft systems in response to several Freedom of Information Act requests.FAA said Wednesday the system only includes data on each UAS owner’s zip code, city and state and excludes the owners’ names and street addresses from disclosure in compliance with a FOIA exemption that seeks to safeguard data from possible infringement of personal privacy.
The agency cited as another reason for its decision to limit disclosure of location data to city, state and zip code is that most of the registered drone owners are minors and only use such drones for recreational purposes.
FAA received FOIA requests after it implemented a new registration system on Dec. 21, 2015, for small drones that weigh between 0.55 pounds and 55 pounds.
Owners that use drones for other operations apart from recreational use are also required to register as part of a section 333 exemption requirement, according to the agency.
