DJI Mavic, Air and Mini Drones
Friendly, Helpful & Knowledgeable Community
Join Us Now

FAA and [You]tube

RobertD

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 13, 2017
Messages
90
Reactions
38
Location
Lam Luk Ka, Thailand
PLEASE: I don't want to start a political or off-topic debate. I've seen a few posts from people saying the FAA contacted them after they posted videos online. Several aspects if this is troubling; if you make money (i.e., YouTube channel) will you require a commercial operator's license? Can the FAA fine you for "infractions" in the video? It seems the reality is that public posting of videos showing violations of the law can and will be used against you.
 
I call BS...and just how does the FAA get the persons contact info?
 
People are being contacted. When you post videos on YouTube anyone can contact you. Click "About" on any video posted on any channel. Other social sites require an account, email and sometimes other contact information.
 
I should have elaborated more on my initial post. You question was whether or not the FAA could fine you because of certain infractions on a YouTube video. My reply would still have been similar, the "average Joe" that posts crap on YouTube has very minimal contact info within the "About" page, myself included. Yes, there is a "Send Message" feature; but if someone sends me a message that states, " Dear Mr XXXX we are trying to reach you in order to send you a citation for a FAA infraction please reply back". Unless I'm a total idiot, I doubt I'll respond.
 
  • Like
Reactions: RC5728
I recall a case some years back in which some idiot meth cook made a YouTube of his cook, bragging about his mad meth cooking skills and product. He got busted.

Just because a YouTuber doesn't publish his real name doesn't mean he can't be found.

Please, folks - fly safely and legally. And if you don't, for cryin' out loud don't be posting vidoes showing violations or unsafe flight. Even if you don't personally get busted, it provides fodder for those organizations that would like to further restrict us. That hurts all of us.
 
  • Like
Reactions: SteveCA
The only time people have been contacted is for things like dangerous flying. Several years ago the FAA sent a few letters to people posting for their companies but they stopped that. Currently I've not seen the FAA pursuing anyone for commercial use for money made on YT.
 
  • Like
Reactions: RC5728
I heard a rumor that the FAA is no longer persuing people for making youtube videos. So you are free to make money off of youtube.
 
I heard a rumor that the FAA is no longer persuing people for making youtube videos. So you are free to make money off of youtube.
Assuming that rumor is true, it would indicate that FAA has loosened their definition of commercial use to exclude monetized YT vids. It probably would have been an overwhelming workload to try to track down every drone vid to see if the poster received any compensation for it, and if so, whether the pilot has a 107 certificate.

But my plea to not post YTs of illegal or unsafe drone flying stands. Even if FAA isn't enforcing against commercial use by non-107 pilots based on YT videos, state and local governments (or the feds) may still use videos of bad drone behavior to support their decisions to further restrict drone use.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: SteveCA
Assuming that rumor is true, it would indicate that FAA has loosened their definition of commercial use to exclude monetized YT vids. It probably would have been an overwhelming workload to try to track down every drone vid to see if the poster received any compensation for it, and if so, whether the pilot has a 107 certificate.

But my plea to not post YTs of illegal or unsafe drone flying stands. Even if FAA isn't enforcing against commercial use by non-107 pilots based on YT videos, state and local governments (or the feds) may still use videos of bad drone behavior to support their decisions to further restrict drone use.
Unless you show yourself they cant tell who is flying it, it maybe your channel but proving you flew it is a different story.
 
I heard a rumor that the FAA is no longer persuing people for making youtube videos. So you are free to make money off of youtube.

I heard a rumor that DJI would be giving away free Mavics to everyone in the world

Truth is, the FAA never went after people for making money on YT. Years ago they were sending letters out in response to complaints for dangerous flying but they quickly stopped that.
 
There's a difference between posting a video on YouTube and having YT auto-add a preroll ad to the clip, and being Casey Neistat or Tom Frey or someone like that; presumably the FAA cares far less about the former than the latter.
 
Unless you show yourself they cant tell who is flying it, it maybe your channel but proving you flew it is a different story.

That may be true, but misses my point. I'm not saying you can't get away with it; I'm saying that posting YouTubes of bad drone behavior hurts our hobby.

Sure, you can post such YouTubes under the veil of anonymity and probably won't get caught unless you do something egregious enough (e.g. injure someone or interfere with emergency/firefighting aircraft) to motivate the FAA or some other agency to investigate. But YouTubes of dangerous, illegal, or privacy-invading flying show our hobby in a bad light and provide fodder for those who would like to further restrict us.

Do your fellow drone enthusiasts a solid and don't post that stuff publicly.
 
  • Like
Reactions: RobertD
Imagine how the world [governments] would react if there were 1000's of "Look what I can do with my Drone!" videos on YouTube showing aggressive and reckless behaviour. Sadly, anyone with a camera can post a video; useful or not. The result is additional and stringent rules with more "No Fly Zones".

Fly and Record Responsibly! Someone is watching!
 
That may be true, but misses my point. I'm not saying you can't get away with it; I'm saying that posting YouTubes of bad drone behavior hurts our hobby.

Sure, you can post such YouTubes under the veil of anonymity and probably won't get caught unless you do something egregious enough (e.g. injure someone or interfere with emergency/firefighting aircraft) to motivate the FAA or some other agency to investigate. But YouTubes of dangerous, illegal, or privacy-invading flying show our hobby in a bad light and provide fodder for those who would like to further restrict us.

Do your fellow drone enthusiasts a solid and don't post that stuff publicly.
I agree but my opinion is those that fly out of line of sight aren't really causing any harm especially if its some where out in the middle of no where.
 
I agree but my opinion is those that fly out of line of sight aren't really causing any harm especially if its some where out in the middle of no where.
In many cases, that's probably true. It is certainly true that, in some situations, a sUAV pilot could responsibly see and avoid other aircraft without being able to see his/her own drone. For example, one could fly a Mavic a mile out over a lake three miles across. With clear sight lines, the pilot could see any manned aircraft approaching even though his/her drone would be too far away to be visible. S/he would still know where the drone is, just couldn't see it. Upon seeing or hearing a manned aircraft approach, s/he could quickly descend to, say, 10 feet above the water. One might argue, in fact, that it's more important to be able to see approaching manned aircraft than it is to see your own sUAV. We can't reliably avoid manned aircraft without knowing where they are and where they are headed, but we could avoid them in many cases without having eye contact with our sUAV.

BUT. That's not how the FAA sees it (at least, not yet). Why stick your finger in their eye? For bragging rights?
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: boxsterfahrer
I call BS...and just how does the FAA get the persons contact info?
Everyone can be found in a matter of minutes with their online traces, especially by law enforcement.

In a similar vein there are countless examples of people posting videos of speeding or reckless driving and being caught because of that.
 
  • Like
Reactions: tooFLYforayoungGUY
In many cases, that's probably true. It is certainly true that, in some situations, a sUAV pilot could responsibly see and avoid other aircraft without being able to see his/her own drone. For example, one could fly a Mavic a mile out over a lake three miles across. With clear sight lines, the pilot could see any manned aircraft approaching even though his/her drone would be too far away to be visible. S/he would still know where the drone is, just couldn't see it. Upon seeing or hearing a manned aircraft approach, s/he could quickly descend to, say, 10 feet above the water. One might argue, in fact, that it's more important to be able to see approaching manned aircraft than it is to see your own sUAV. We can't reliably avoid manned aircraft without knowing where they are and where they are headed, but we could avoid them in many cases without having eye contact with our sUAV.

BUT. That's not how the FAA sees it (at least, not yet). Why stick your finger in their eye? For bragging rights?
No its not about bragging rights, some times places are inaccessible by car or foot. I rarely fly higher than than 250 if manned aircraft are down lower than that then they a flirting with hitting trees..
 
No its not about bragging rights, some times places are inaccessible by car or foot. I rarely fly higher than than 250 if manned aircraft are down lower than that then they a flirting with hitting trees..

I understand your reasons for flying there, and don't necessarily disagree. But this thread is about the wisdom and potential consequences to our drone community of posting public videos that show unsafe flying (not saying yours is unsafe) or violations of the regs or guidelines (which include flying beyond VLOS for whatever reason).

You can post a private video on YouTube and send links to your friends. Then the video won't be out there for the world (including the FAA, local governments and paranoid citizens who might want further restrict us) to see.
 
Last edited:
Everyone can be found in a matter of minutes with their online traces, especially by law enforcement.

In a similar vein there are countless examples of people posting videos of speeding or reckless driving and being caught because of that.
Not sure I would say "a matter of minutes" and secondly the forensics behind as you put it "online traces" cost $.
 
In many cases, that's probably true. It is certainly true that, in some situations, a sUAV pilot could responsibly see and avoid other aircraft without being able to see his/her own drone. For example, one could fly a Mavic a mile out over a lake three miles across. With clear sight lines, the pilot could see any manned aircraft approaching even though his/her drone would be too far away to be visible. S/he would still know where the drone is, just couldn't see it. Upon seeing or hearing a manned aircraft approach, s/he could quickly descend to, say, 10 feet above the water. One might argue, in fact, that it's more important to be able to see approaching manned aircraft than it is to see your own sUAV. We can't reliably avoid manned aircraft without knowing where they are and where they are headed, but we could avoid them in many cases without having eye contact with our sUAV.

BUT. That's not how the FAA sees it (at least, not yet). Why stick your finger in their eye? For bragging rights?

Just because someone has an "opinion" that flying out if line of site is harmless, does not make it safe or legal. The FAA regulations are for the safety of all; we should not create situations that are negative for the hobby, or the public.
 
Lycus Tech Mavic Air 3 Case

DJI Drone Deals

New Threads

Forum statistics

Threads
130,593
Messages
1,554,206
Members
159,598
Latest member
fast54