Guidance: Use of drones

Introduction

This guidance note discusses the considerations around the use of drones for filming. In addition to the Editorial Guidelines, it should be considered in conjunction with:-

• the UK Civil Aviation Authority Guidance Notes and

• the BBC Safety guidelines for drones.

Key Points

• Where a drone is used by a BBC remote pilot, it should normally be flown in accordance with the country's aviation regulations, unless there is a public interest for not doing so.
• In the absence of country-specific drone regulations, operators should aim to follow the UK Civil Aviation Authority standards.
• In the UK, the BBC remote pilot should abide by the CAA regulations and follow the BBC drone operations manual.
• Remote pilots intending to fly a drone for filming in the UK are required by the CAA to have a Flyer Identification, Operator Identification and valid insurance. In some circumstances where the risk to other persons or other air traffic is greater (called "Specific category" operations), Operational Authorisation by the CAA will also be required.
• The Editorial Guidelines require that, "Any proposal to gather material using a drone where it might infringe privacy, must be referred to a senior editorial figure or, for independent production companies, to the commissioning editor." (Editorial Guidelines Section 7: Privacy 7.4.33)
• When assessing whether to use user generated content filmed from a drone, we should consider whether the drone flight was conducted legally.

• If in any doubt about the safety or legality of the flight, refer the UGC footage to a BBC trained remote pilot.

• The BBC should not normally ask a contributor, or third party, who does not have Flyer Identification, Operator Identification, valid insurance and, where required, Operational Authorisation, to conduct a flight or gather footage from one on our behalf.

• The remote pilot is legally responsible for the safety of each flight and must take all possible measures to mitigate the risks of a collision.

• The BBC may decide not to broadcast any material filmed from a drone, either by us or a third party, if it appears that a drone operation has put the safety of people or property at risk or has otherwise been carried out illegally, including in breach of aviation regulations. Any use of such footage must be justified in the public interest.

Aviation Regulation

Aviation regulation across the world governs the safe use of drones.

Where a drone is used by a BBC remote pilot, it should normally be flown in accordance with the country's aviation regulations, unless there is a public interest for not doing so. In a war zone, for example, it may not be possible to seek permission to fly.

Failure to adhere to a country's aviation regulations could lead to criminal prosecution.

In the absence of country-specific drone regulations, remote pilots should aim to follow the UK Civil Aviation Authority, (CAA) standards. In the UK, the BBC remote pilot should abide by the CAA regulations and follow the BBC drone operations manual.

Remote pilots, intending to fly a drone in the UK for filming, are required by the CAA to have Flyer Identification, Operator Identification and valid insurance. In some circumstances, where the risk to other persons or other air traffic is greater (called "Specific category" operations), Operational Authorisation by the CAA will also be required.

This also applies to third party operators hired by the BBC to fly a drone on our behalf, including freelance camera operators. (A list of preferred BBC suppliers can be found on Gateway)

Other bodies, such as the emergency services, highways agencies or local authorities may also impose further restrictions.

In addition, drone operators need to be aware of no-fly zones or temporary bans.

Any proposal to use a drone should be conducted in accordance with the Editorial Guidelines.

(See Editorial Guidelines Section 7 Privacy 7.4.33)

Advice on how to fly a drone safely is available from BBC Safety. Legal advice on filming with drones is available from Programme Legal Advice.

Privacy

The versatility of drones and their ability to operate without the constraint of walls or fences means they can easily access private spaces. The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has warned broadcasters that their use of drones can raise privacy concerns as individuals are unlikely to realise they are being recorded or able to identify who is in control. The ICO suggests that while individuals may not be identifiable from a wide aerial shot, they might still be identifiable from the context in which they are filmed.^[1]

The Editorial Guidelines require that, "Any proposal to gather material using a drone where it might infringe privacy, must be referred to a senior editorial figure or, for independent production companies, the commissioning editor." (Editorial Guidelines 7.4.33)

Whether privacy will be infringed depends on where the drone will be flown and the images it captures.

Flying a drone in a public space like a park, is unlikely to lead to an infringement of privacy where individuals in wide general views are not identified or featured and are not doing anything inherently private.

However, filming above someone's home or while flying over their back garden, particularly if it can't be seen from a place accessible to the public may in some cases lead to an infringement of privacy – particularly if the filming captures images or individuals engaged in activities which are inherently private.

Consideration needs to be given to whether a property owner or landowner has a reasonable expectation of privacy in their commercial land or buildings. People's expectations of privacy in, for example, schools, prisons, care homes, hospitals are also higher.

Some behaviour, such as receiving medical treatment, also attracts a higher expectation of privacy.

Any infringement of privacy needs to be justified in the public interest.

(See Editorial Guidelines Section 7 Privacy: Introduction – Legitimate Expectations of Privacy and Section 1 The BBC's Editorial Standards: The Public Interest)

Where individuals' privacy may be inadvertently infringed, steps should be taken to disguise identities.

Before planning a drone operation, users should consider the following:

• Is it necessary and proportionate for the recording to be continuous?

• Can the camera on the drone be switched on and off or re-directed so that privacy is not unnecessarily infringed if the aircraft captures images of people, property or land that is of no interest to the production?

• Are there ways of restricting the view or changing the angle of the lens to avoid capturing images where privacy may be unjustifiably infringed, if for example the drone has to fly over someone's back-garden?

• Should a different take-off position or route be considered?

• Does the production need to provide information to make people aware drones are in use by the BBC or the purpose of filming? This might include the following:

• Staff wearing highly visible clothing identifying themselves as BBC drone operators.
• Signage in the area where the drone is being flown.
• Information on posters or tickets at a live event or outside broadcast or similar.
• Using social media to explain that filming is taking place from a drone in a defined area.

There is no need to warn people that they might be filmed if individuals are not going to be identifiable from the footage because the shot is too wide.

• Whether an area needs to be cordoned off to prevent anyone entering.

Data Protection

There could be data protection issues arising from using drones for filming. The Information Commissioner's Office has issued guidance on this in its Video Surveillance Guidance. Where someone's privacy might be infringed without a strong public interest justification, or the use of drones is unexpected you may need to consider conducting a privacy impact assessment and you should refer to Information Rights on Gateway for more advice.

(See Editorial Guidelines Section 18 The Law: Data Protection 18.4.8)

Consent

Permission to Fly

A remote pilot where practicable should have the permission of the person in charge of the site from which they wish to take-off and land the drone.

Flying over private property, irrespective of whether the drone is filming or not, may also raise legal issues including trespass and nuisance. Property owners have rights in respect of their airspace above their property and you may need to seek permission from the owner.

Further advice is available from Editorial Policy and Programme Legal Advice.

Editorial Consent

The need for consent will depend on what is being filmed.

Where we are filming in public or semi-public places, such as railway stations, we do not normally obtain consent from individuals who are incidentally caught on camera as part of a general view, unless they are engaged in an activity where they have a legitimate expectation of privacy.

We normally obtain consent before filming on private property.

Programmes which rely on access to an organisation's land or property should include consent to overfly that land or buildings in any agreement.

The Editorial Guidelines state, "Drones should not normally be used to identify individuals without their consent, or capture close-up images of areas such as private homes, private gardens or private areas of offices without the consent of the owner, unless they can be seen from a publicly accessible place, or there is a public interest that outweighs any legitimate expectation of privacy."(Editorial Guidelines 7.4.33)

(See Editorial Guidelines Section 6 Fairness)

Investigative Use and Secret Recording

Drones may be used for investigations where there is an evidential purpose in the footage to be obtained and providing there is a public interest justification for any infringement of privacy. Under the Editorial Guidelines, a proposal to film with a drone that risks infringing privacy may be regarded as a proposal for secret filming which must be approved in advance, through the usual process. The forms for secret recording for News and Current Affairs and Factual Programmes and Comedy and Entertainment Output can be found on the Forms page.

(See Editorial Guidelines Section 7 Privacy: Secret Recording 7.4.11-7.4.23)

(See guidance: Secret Recording)

Any proposal to use a drone for surveillance, or to follow the subject of an investigation or hover outside a window where a meeting is taking place, should only be approved if there is any evidential purpose which is in the public interest to reveal.

UGC and Third Party Content

We should take reasonable steps where necessary to verify UGC footage filmed from a drone or offered to us by a third party.

We should also consider its provenance including whether the drone operation:

• was conducted legally,
• put the safety of any person or property at risk,
• involved any infringement of privacy or secret recording,
• involved any trespass or
• involved any infringement of other property rights like nuisance.

For a UK drone flight you should normally ask the pilot for details of their Flyer Identification and Operator Identification. In some circumstances details of Operational Authorisation by the CAA (see above) and valid insurance should also be sought.

The BBC should not normally ask a contributor, or third party, who does not have a Flyer Identification, Operator Identification (or Operator Authorisation if required) and valid insurance, to conduct a flight or gather footage from one on our behalf.

We must not encourage people to break the law or put themselves or others at risk or in danger, when gathering material filmed from a drone, which may be for the BBC's use.

If in any doubt about the safety or legality of the flight, refer the UGC footage to a BBC trained remote pilot.

Use of user-generated drone footage which infringes an individual's privacy without consent must be justified in the public interest.

(See guidance: User Generated Contributions)

If we propose to use user-generated drone footage and it appears that the person in charge of the drone is at risk of investigation or prosecution in relation to their footage, they should be made aware of this risk and be prepared to accept it.

(See Editorial Guidelines Section 6 Fairness 6.4.22-26 Safety and Duty of Care to Contributors)

We should ensure that UGC drone footage is clearly identified as such or attributed to an appropriate third party

Safety

The remote pilot is legally responsible for the safety of each flight. You should not fly your aircraft in a way that could endanger people or property. The potential hazards increase with the height, altitude and speed of the aircraft. But even very small drones could be dangerous when flown in close proximity to people or property or other aircraft. You must take all possible measures to mitigate the risks of a collision.

The BBC may decide not to broadcast any material filmed from a drone, either by us or a third party if it appears that a drone operation has put the safety of people or property at risk or has otherwise been carried out illegally, including in breach of aviation regulations. Any use of such footage must be justified in the public interest.

Please see the BBC Safety Guidelines for drones for further information.

1. ICO, What are Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) / Drones, accessed 20 August 2024 ↩