(Bloomberg) — President Barack Obama's administration took the first step to opening the skies above the U.S. to widespread civilian drone flights while proposing strict limits on commercial operations and privacy rules for those flown by government agencies.

The Federal Aviation Administration on Sunday unveiled a proposal to permit businesses to use small unmanned aircraft, so long as they are flown at low altitudes by a person who is at least 17 years old, passes a knowledge test and gets an FAA certificate. Flights wouldn't be allowed out of sight of the operator or over crowds, and couldn't exceed 100 miles (161 kilometers) an hour, according to a fact sheet issued by the agency.

"Technology is advancing at an unprecedented pace and this milestone allows federal regulations and the use of our national airspace to evolve to safely accommodate innovation," Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said in a release.

Recommended For You

Want to continue reading?
Become a Free PropertyCasualty360 Digital Reader

Your access to unlimited PropertyCasualty360 content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:

  • Breaking insurance news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
  • Weekly Insurance Speak podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
  • Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
  • Critical converage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, BenefitsPRO and ThinkAdvisor
NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.