China cracks down on drone usage with new regulations but most consumers needn’t worry
Rules may pose a challenge for e-commerce players like Alibaba if they follow Amazon’s cue in launching delivery drones, as aerial shipments to crowded urban hubs will be forbidden.
Drones will be banned from delivering e-commerce packages in densely-populated areas under upcoming new regulations for civilian unmanned aircraft in China, local media reported this week.
A provisional regulation on the operation of drones will be launched by the Civil Aviation Administration of China early this month, Ke Yubao, executive secretary general of the government-supported Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association of China, said on Monday, according to the Beijing Daily. Ke made the comments at the China Aviation Development Summit in Beijing.
The move comes as privacy, security and other concerns linked to drones are growing in tandem with the booming market for their civilian and professional use by hobbyist photographers, farmers and other segments of society.
The company claims over 70 per cent of the global market for civilian drones, an industry in which China is emerging as a world leader, with Beijing now taking a stronger interest in its development, manufacturing and regulation.