MOSCOW, July 28 (RIA Novosti) – US professors spoke against their government’s tight limits on the commercial use of drones, The Wall Street Journal reported.
"Free and open access to this technology is absolutely essential to our nation's continued leadership in aviation, to our future economy and to our long-term security," The Wall Street Journal cited 29 academics as arguing in an open letter to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
The professors, many from renowned universities such as Harvard, Stanford and Duke, say that the new policy limits scientific advancement. The academics argued that the agency should target individuals who use the drones dangerously, rather than on the technology itself.
The FAA allows government entities to use drones in some cases, but banned the use of commercial drones in almost all other cases, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The FAA has issued its policy recommendation a month ago and explained that the limits are necessary in order to ensure the aerospace safety. The administration is now working on new rules governing the devices.
The agency fears that drones can be unsafe to use. Given the complexity of the current aerospace system, small drones could easily be sucked into jet engines and cause major accidents.
In the US military, drones are already widely used. US President Barack Obama’s administration has often been criticized for the unjustified use of drone attacks against suspected terrorists that in many cases have led to the deaths of civilians.
In June 2009, the United Nations Human Rights Council produced a report highly critical of the US drone use. The report stated that the US government failed to keep track of the civilian causalities of its military operations, including drone attacks.
In June 2012 the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay called for a new investigation, arguing that the US drone attacks violate human rights.
In December 2013, the United Nations passed a resolution against drone strikes. The resolution urges to ensure that the use of drones by armed forces complies with international law.
