Appearances and coverage

Are unidentified drones over New Jersey a threat? (CNN)

On CNN, McNeal breaks down the December 2024 New Jersey drone-sighting panic, separating what the public can actually see from what the law lets authorities do about it.

What’s behind the mysterious drone sightings? (Spectrum News 1)

McNeal explains the wave of unexplained drone reports and what authorities can and cannot do in response.

Police use of drones raises privacy concerns

The civil-liberties questions raised as law-enforcement agencies expand their drone programs.

Read the full summary, key moments and transcript ›

What are the implications of Hamas’s use of drones against Israel?

What cheap, widely available attack drones mean for security and the law of armed conflict.

What a DOT pick could mean for the drone industry (Bloomberg)

On Bloomberg, McNeal on how the choice of transportation secretary shapes the path for commercial drones.

Drone manufacturers confident the domestic industry will grow

McNeal on the outlook for the U.S. commercial drone industry and the policy that will shape it.

Disneyland drones? Disney files three patents for unmanned aircraft

What Disney’s drone patents signal about where commercial and entertainment drone uses are headed.

California’s drone paparazzi have had their wings clipped

How new California law addresses drones, paparazzi, and personal privacy.

Drones fly faster than the law can keep up with

The widening gap between fast-moving drone technology and slow-moving regulation.

Drones on holiday shopping lists: will regulation get ahead of the rush?

What the consumer-drone boom means for rule-makers trying to keep the airspace safe.

Is it legal to ban drones in parks?

The legal questions behind park and local-government drone bans.

Is drone delivery a possibility? What are the legal issues?

The legal and regulatory path to routine drone delivery.

Writing the rules for domestic drone use

How the United States should write the rules for flying drones at home.

In the future, you could get your Amazon order delivered by drone

The reality, and the hurdles, behind drone delivery becoming routine.

Privacy and property rights after an OC man destroys a drone over his home

Where a property owner’s rights end and navigable airspace begins.

No details yet for the new civilian drone registration system

McNeal on the FAA’s civilian drone-registration rollout and its open questions.

FAA’s proposed drone rules ground many commercial aspirations

What the FAA’s proposed commercial-drone rules mean for businesses.

Analyzing California’s choice to sign one drone bill, not others

Reading the Governor’s decisions on which drone bills became law.

Rethinking the use of drones

A wide-ranging conversation on the law, policy, and future of drones.

How a drone court for battlefield targeting might work (NPR)

On NPR, McNeal’s proposal for how targeting decisions could be independently reviewed.

Everything you wanted to know about drone law but were afraid to ask (podcast)

A full primer on the legal landscape for drones.

Drones and Property Rights (Federalist Society)

McNeal’s property-rights framework for regulating drones.

Should the government regulate microdrones? (Federalist Society)

Whether the smallest drones warrant their own rules.

Fly your drone in legal airspace with AirMap (engineeringtv)

A demonstration of AirMap, the airspace-management company McNeal co-founded.

Drones, Innovation and the Future of Flight (keynote)

McNeal’s keynote on where commercial drones and aviation are heading.

Collaborative Acceleration of Regulation and Innovation (Federalist Society)

A Federalist Society discussion on how regulators and innovators can move together.

The science of Watch Dogs: Legion (Nerdist)

On Nerdist, McNeal on the real surveillance and drone technology behind the near-future game.