Civil Liberties and Photography Groups Back Court Challenge to Rescinded FAA Drone Flight Restriction
Coalition Backs Photographer in Drone Case
A group of civil liberties and photography organizations has urged a federal appeals court to keep alive a challenge to a now-withdrawn FAA drone restriction. The Electronic Frontier Foundation, the ACLU and its D.C. affiliate, the National Press Photographers Association, and Professional Photographers of America filed a friend-of-the-court brief supporting Minnesota photojournalist Robert Levine. Levine, represented by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in March 2026 after the FAA issued a temporary flight restriction in January and then rescinded it in April.
What the Original Rule Did
The January 2026 notice, known as FDC 6/4375, prohibited unauthorized drone flights within 3,000 feet horizontally and 1,000 feet above certain federal facilities and mobile assets. Those assets included Department of Homeland Security vehicles, vessels, convoys, and escorts, as well as property tied to the Departments of Defense and Energy. The rule threatened civil or criminal penalties and allowed agencies to disrupt, seize, damage, or destroy drones considered credible threats. Levine argued that pilots often could not tell when unmarked federal vehicles entered an area, which discouraged lawful flights, including journalistic ones.
Why the Fight Isn't Over
Although the FAA replaced the restriction with a nationwide advisory that asks operators to avoid certain federal mobile assets and warns that agencies may act against threatening drones, the advisory lacks the same broad prohibition and stated penalties. Levine still wants the D.C. Circuit to review the original measure, pointing out that pilots could face consequences for alleged violations that occurred while it was in effect and that the FAA could impose a similar restriction in the future.