There are a lot of drones that are commercially available at the moment, many of which will allow users to record videos while the drone is up in the sky. This allows for some rather interesting footage and angles that would otherwise be impossible to get unless you were in a helicopter. Sharing those videos online has also become commonplace, but it could also land you in a spot of legal trouble.
Recently the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) sent a YouTuber by the name of Jayson Hanes a warning letter telling him that he was violating drone regulations for using them for commercial purposes. However Hanes argues that he doesn’t as he just uploads them onto YouTube to share with people.
However the FAA argues that because it is viewed on YouTube which in some cases ends up paying users money through Google’s AdSense, it has become a commercial endeavor. Hanes admits that he enabled monetization on his YouTube account but has yet to accept any payments from Google.
Based on this warning letter, Hanes said that he could be liable for fines and legal action from the FAA but according to Ryan Calo, an assistant law professor at the University of Washington, he feels that this is an aggressive interpretation over the terms “commercial use”. We should note that just because Hanes got sent a warning letter than you would get one too if you upload a video. Hanes was only sent the letter after someone submitted a complaint against him.