FAA is Considering Lifting Drone Ban for Hollywood

Drones are pretty cool. (Don’t believe me? Just ask Martha Stewart.) Not only can they snap a selfie, deliver packages and walk a dogs, but they also have the power to dramatically change the way companies across a variety of different industries do business.

We're starting to see this play out across the globe. In Australia, drones drop off students' textbooks, in Japan they spray crops, and in the U.K. they shoot real-estate videos. And in the U.S.? Unfortunately, we are severely lagging behind in drone world. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued a blanket ban on the commercial use of drones until it issues a comprehensive list of rules on operating the vehicles. (While those proposed rules are expected sometime this year, they probably won't go into effect until 2015, at the earliest.)

This plodding regulatory process has companies and "drone advocates" frustrated: They want drones and they want them now.

Related: How Drones Are Changing the Way We Do Business

It appears the FAA is finally cracking. On Monday, the agency announced that it is considering exempting seven small companies in the television/film industry from the ban.

If approved, this could have huge implications, opening the door for companies in other industries to request exemptions for specific operations. Already, three additional industries -- agriculture, power line and pipeline inspection, and oil and gas flare stack inspection -- are considering asking for an exemption from the drone ban.

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To ensure safety, the Motion Picture Association of America included certain standards, including total flight time will be less than 30 minutes, the flight height will be under 200 feet in altitude, the pilot will be certified, and the drone will weigh less than 55 pounds.

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCBP leaders cut out of Trump ad buy decision

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAmerican passenger drafted goodbye texts to her family as Flydubai plane plummeted

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation pushes embattled New York prosecutor into national spotlight

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

Drones are already being used by enterprising civilians to do just about everything, so it's about time we expanded their use from the novel to the actually useful.

Related: Revolutionizing the Film Industry With Remote-Controlled Drones