ABSTRACT
Drone journalism – dronalism – advances newsgathering through aerial photojournalism. Because drones are legally defined as aircraft, dronalism in many countries is considered as a commercial use of drones, with the expectation that general aviation regulations are followed – with no exceptions. At the same time, the expanding use of civilian drones raises a host of legislative issues waiting to be resolved. Two under-considered aspects that are focused on in this chapter are a) newsgathering, which protected under Article 10 of the European Convention of Human Rights, Europe’s so-called First Amendment, since even if it is remunerated, dronalism is not a commercial activity, and b) the enforcement of norms, whether by regulators, police or courts, since this is what really matters on a day-to-day basis for operators using their aircraft for dronalism.
