FTC Announces Agenda for Oct. 13 Fall Tech Series Forum on Drones

The Federal Trade Commission announced the agenda for its Oct. 13 event examining how the growing use of unmanned aerial drones may impact consumer privacy. With businesses using drones for everything from product deliveries to photography, the event will look at the potential risks and benefits to consumers.

FTC Commissioner Maureen K. Ohlhausen will provide opening remarks to start the event, which will include two panel discussions exploring whether drones raise unique privacy concerns and how to address those concerns.

The first panel will address whether drones raise unique privacy concerns, and will include panelists from the Electronic Privacy Information Center, the University of Washington, AirMap, DJI and the Drone Manufacturers Association. The second panel will look at how best to address potential privacy concerns, and will include panelists from the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Precision Hawk, AUVSI, the Small UAV Coalition, the City Drone Project and Ohio State University.

In addition to the panel discussions, the FTC’s Office of Technology Research and Investigation will present research relating to drones and consumer privacy and Yang Wang, a professor at Syracuse University, will present research on consumer perceptions of drones.

The event will take place at the FTC’s Constitution Center offices, 400 7^th St. SW, Washington, DC, and will begin at 1 p.m. and continue until 4:30 p.m. A full schedule and other details on the forum can be found on the event’s webpage. The event is free and open to the public and will be available via webcast. No pre-registration is needed.

This event is the second in the FTC’s Fall Technology Series. The next event will look at Smart TV on Dec. 7.

The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition, and protect and educate consumers. You can learn more about consumer topics and file a consumer complaint online or by calling 1-877-FTC-HELP (382-4357).  Like the FTC on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, read our blogs and subscribe to press releases for the latest FTC news and resources.