Press Release
February 24, 2014

Holland & Knight Helps Study Potential Use of Drones in Newsgathering

WASHINGTON (February 24, 2014) – Holland & Knight has teamed up with the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) to survey journalists on the potential uses of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS or drones) in newsgathering, a study undertaken as the Federal Aviation Administration prepares to develop policies permitting civilian and commercial use of drones in the U.S., and possibly, issue a notice of proposed rulemaking on this subject late in 2014.

The survey, which has gone out to dozens of media outlets and news agencies, will be summarized in an NPPA technical paper to be presented at the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International program in May 2014.

Earlier this month, Mr. Naftalin spoke about legal issues related to commercial UAS use at the conference "Using Drones in the News and Entertainment Industries: Legal and Regulatory Issues," presented at the Donald E. Biederman Entertainment and Media Law Institute of the Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles. Mr. Naftalin, who leads the Holland & Knight telecommunications law practice, focused his presentation on spectrum matters for wireless command, control and use of UAS.

Mr. Tobin, who chairs the firm's national media practice team, represents media clients in libel and privacy matters. He is leading the firm's efforts to explore the use of drones and what constitute the boundaries between the First Amendment right to gather news and the public's right to safety and privacy. Mr. Tobin's focus is how to establish reasonable constraints on aerial news gathering without hindering the media's rights to gather news.

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