Who Can Use Drones This Week?

As drones have become ubitiquous, one of the first reactions of regulators was to say who would not get to use them. Beer delivery services. Tourists in national parks. Hunters who use them to track prey.  

It's not so crazy to step back and consider who, exactly, should get to use drones and how—these things crash fairly often. But who does get to use drones? For starters:

• Hollywood: This week, the FAA gave six production companies the right to use drones for filming. As the Verge points out, Hollywood has been using drones to film movies for a while, but now it actually has permission. 
• Farmers: According to Fortune, farmers in Japan and Canada have been using commercial drone systems in agriculture for a while. Farmers in the United States are still waiting on FAA approval, but hope that the FAA approval for Hollywood will soon extend to agricultural uses. 
• DHL: This week, the company started testing drone deliveries in Germany, where it will fly packages to the island of Juist from the mainland. 
• Argentina: The Argentinian government has been using drones near Buenos Aires to catch people evading property taxes. The evaders in question had built mansions on what they told the government were vacant lots.  

Who (still) does not get to use drones? 

• Dutch and German Tourists: Or any tourist really, especially if they’re in National Parks. Remember that drone crash into the Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone? The drone still hasn’t been recovered, but the tourist, originally from the Netherlands, was tracked down and has been fined $3,200 for his actions. Earlier this month, a German tourist was banned from Yellowstone for a year and given probation after a similar crash. Lest the Europeans get a bad rap, it should be noted that an Oregonian man will head to court next month for flying a drone in Yellowstone.  

Mary Beth Griggs | | READ MORE

Mary Beth Griggs is a freelance science journalist based in New York City.