Privacy and data protection issues surrounding unmanned aerial vehicles

Abstract

The civil use of drones (also called Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS)) has increased exponentially over the last few years, where a tool which was originally used for military use, is now also used for leisure purposes by the ordinary civilian. The current development of drones has a positive impact in sectors such as employment, however like any other technology, risks must be considered, especially those to privacy and data protection. Since drones carry several payloads which can record audio and video of individuals without them being aware, there is a possibility that data will be gathered without their knowledge. Therefore, this paper will analyse existing legislation relating to both the European Union (EU) regulatory framework for drones as well as laws regulating privacy and data protection to see the extent to which these rights are protected. This research finds that although violations to privacy and data protection can be very serious, their relevant legislation is equipped well enough to combat them. Certain concerns regarding exemptions to processing of personal data for journalistic purposes or for surveillance by state authorities will be discussed in detail from the drone perspective. Furthermore, several recommendations were made mainly in the field of technology where new software and data protection by design features were encouraged to be implemented into drones as well and for these ideas to be applied on an EU-wide level. From the analysis conducted throughout this paper, privacy and data protection legislation were found to be enough to cover violations as much as possible in the event of unlawful processing of data, drones present unique risks and need additional protection within a comprehensive drone framework to address these threats.