
FAA Admits Names and Home Addresses in Drone Registry Will Be Publicly Available - newman314
http://www.forbes.com/sites/johngoglia/2015/12/18/faa-finally-admits-names-and-home-addresses-in-drone-registry-will-be-publicly-available/
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victortango
FAA has always been rather backward on privacy. All licensed pilots' home
addresses are already publicly available and are being scraped by SEO bots and
displayed on the front page of google if you search for said pilot's name.

e.g.

Angelina Jolie: [http://aviation-business-gazette.com/A39/B58/Pilot-
Angelina-...](http://aviation-business-gazette.com/A39/B58/Pilot-Angelina-
Jolie-Los-Angeles-CA.html)

Harrison Ford: [http://aviation-business-gazette.com/A3/B63/Pilot-
Harrison-F...](http://aviation-business-gazette.com/A3/B63/Pilot-Harrison-
Ford-Santa-Monica-CA.html)

I've already had a couple of scammers using my address information from here
and pretending as bill collectors try to scam me. Not sure how we can get the
FAA to see reason in this regard.

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brudgers
Nobody is compelled to be a pilot.

Public records that aren't public aren't public records. Holding a pilot's
license means having responsibility to the public, with responsibility comes
accountability. Celebrities are not entitled to special privilege in the US.
We don't have royalty or an aristocracy.

~~~
saurik
I agree with you about the idea of public records. At the same time, it is not
clear to me why someone would need the physical address of someone with a
pilot's license. Why is "where this person lives" part of "public record" once
you are licensed to fly a plane?

~~~
brudgers
The address is where official communications are sent, e.g. the license itself
or a subpoena or FAA investigators.

~~~
serge2k
Which is why the FAA needs the data, not a reason to disclose it.

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alexforster
This is the first time I've ever had a "real" website block me for using an ad
blocker. The "continue to site" button loops back to this screen until you
turn ABP off.

[http://imgur.com/qacLPmC.png](http://imgur.com/qacLPmC.png)

~~~
superuser2
Not happening to me with AdBlock and Ghostery under Chrome.

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dingaling
A common workaround for private and corporate aircraft owners is to register
the aircraft under a Delaware company. That results in the registering agent's
address ( usually a law firm's office ) appearing in the database.

There is even Delawareing-as-a-service! Just one example from Googling:

[http://www.global-inter.net/services/asset-protection-
aircra...](http://www.global-inter.net/services/asset-protection-aircraft-
yacht/airplane-registration)

Of course this does impose annual requirements for company returns etc but
many owners consider that a reasonable cost for the privacy it provides.

 _Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice. However it is an
arrangement I frequently encounter when researching corporate jet ownership._

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jedmeyers
If you are a licensed amateur radio operator your name, callsign and address
is listed in the open FCC database, so looks like this kind of thing is
nothing really new.

~~~
asynchronous13
True. They are talking about including this new information in the same
database that is used to register N-numbers for full sized aircraft. It's not
really a new thing, and doesn't bother me too much.

However, their FAQ is very misleading. If the info will be public, fine, just
be up front about it. At the moment, there is plain language that says the
info will be kept private, but legal language that says it will be made
publicly searchable.

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adventured
This just prevented me from having any interest in buying a drone. Obviously
your name can end up on an endless variety of lists, from advertising to spam
calls, but the notion of this and going into it willingly - it's an instant
turn-off. I had been increasingly looking forward to purchasing my first
drone, despite the registry. What an incredibly stupid thing for the FAA to
do. Where's a drone lobby when you need one.

~~~
asynchronous13
Check with the AMA (Academy of Model Aeronautics) if you are a hobbyist.
[http://www.modelaircraft.org/](http://www.modelaircraft.org/)

And check with AUVSI (Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International)
if you're a professional.
[http://www.auvsi.org/home](http://www.auvsi.org/home)

Those are the two main organizations lobbying for sane laws regarding drones.

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thomasruns
Wow. Blocking me for using adblock ensures I won't ever view Forbes again.
Either way they get zero ad views.

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silveira
If you are into amateur radio, it's the same problem for years. The only
workaround is having a PO box.

