Amateur Drone Videos on YouTube Drawing FAA Scrutiny

Hobbyists who post drone video footage to YouTube could face fines from the Federal Aviation Administration.

At least that’s the lesson a Tampa area hobbyist is sharing after his posts of area landmarks, including the St. Petersburg Pier, have caught the attention of the regulatory agency. The FAA sent Jayson Hanes a warning notice on March 9. That notice advises his activities are considered “commercial” in nature because of his decision to post videos to YouTube.

“This office has received a complaint regarding your use of unmanned aerial vehicle (aka drone) for commercial purposes referencing your video on the web site YouTube.com as evidence,” the letter reads. “After a review of your web site, it does appear that the complaint is valid.”

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While the FAA doesn’t regulate the use of drones and other model aircraft by hobbyists, it is cracking down on commercial use, Motherboard notes. That publication points out the line between hobby and commercial use is often a fine one, as evidenced by Hanes’ case.

It seems the Tampa man has posted amateur drone videos to YouTube for the past year or so and never drawn fire in the past. While YouTube is technically “monetized” through the use of ads, Hanes says his earnings from the ads have amounted to less than $1.

The FAA has sent similar cease and desist letters to commercial drone operators who advertise drones-for-hire, WTOP says, but the Hanes’ case seems to be a first of its kind.

When questioned by Motherboard about the letter sent to Hanes, the agency at first cited safety concerns, but then said the matter is now under review.

Hanes has not posted new videos to his YouTube channel since the letter’s arrival.

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