The Federal Aviation Administration has exempted six photo and video companies from its tight restrictions on commercial drones, in what the department described as a first step toward allowing the film and television industry use of unmanned aircraft systems. Regulations covering drones have become an increasingly touchy topic as the FAA takes years to craft long-promised rules, frustrating both the industry and its growing pool of customers. The companies, which coordinated with the Motion Picture Association of America on the exemption request, had to demonstrate their operations wouldn’t pose safety risks. The FAA encouraged other industry trade groups to work with members on similar petitions.
This article originally appeared on Recode.net.
Will you support Vox’s explanatory journalism?
Most news outlets make their money through advertising or subscriptions. But when it comes to what we’re trying to do at Vox, there are a couple of big issues with relying on ads and subscriptions to keep the lights on:
First, advertising dollars go up and down with the economy. We often only know a few months out what our advertising revenue will be, which makes it hard to plan ahead.
Second, we’re not in the subscriptions business. Vox is here to help everyone understand the complex issues shaping the world — not just the people who can afford to pay for a subscription. We believe that’s an important part of building a more equal society. And we can’t do that if we have a paywall.
So even though advertising is still our biggest source of revenue, we also seek grants and reader support. (And no matter how our work is funded, we have strict guidelines on editorial independence.)
If you also believe that everyone deserves access to trusted high-quality information, will you make a gift to Vox today? Any amount helps.
Yes, I'll give $5/month
Yes, I'll give $5/month
We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and
Google Pay. You can also contribute via
