Utube and for profit drone video
- Thread starter Mostbestus
- Start date
FlushVision
Premium Pilot
Interesting.
Though I am not in the U.S.A. our laws in the U.K. regarding what is seen as commercial are not dissimilar to the U.S. laws. In order to gain financially we have to have a PfCO, roughly equivalent to Part 107.
Now, I have a PfCO so if I wanted to gain financially from my aerial imagery I can do so. However, my YouTube channel is not moneytized but it has something in the region of 400 aerial videos on it (though some are archived and some are not listed). I have never seen any advertising on any of them but I have no idea if anyone else looking at my videos see advertising. That is to say, I don't see adverts but someone else not owning the channel may have a different experience. If there are adverts there, then, In my case YouTube aren't breaking the law since I have a PfCO...but they have no idea that I do have a PfCO since I don't post any of my commercial videos on YouTube. They are only for my clients.
As far as I know, then, there are no adverts on my channel. If someone else seeing my channel sees adverts I would be annoyed since I don't want my audience to be bombarded with adverts...I just want them to be entertained. But in my case, if there are adverts YouTube aren't breaking the CAA's rules. Just my trust.
This is a subject that I have often thought about. And in the wider world of commercial operators and none commercial operators the lines are blurred beyond anything that could be described as reasonable. I have an interest in motorcycles and one of the YouTube channels that I watch on a regular basis, has a guy who uses a drone in his video's. Now whether he's got a PFCO or not, I have no idea but I'm betting that he doesn't. I bet he doesn't even know what a PFCO is!? Why should he? When he bought his drone (probably on-line) there will be no literature or anyone telling him the ins and outs of commercial drone operations. Now I have seen ads in his video's but as far as I can tell, his channel isn't moneytized but I can bet that he does receive valuable consideration from his channel because he receives products from different parts and tool manufacturers which he will review. And valuable consideration is the same as getting paid in the world of UK drone operations. Yeah, that sounds a very tenuous example but if you think about it, it's just the same as an estate agent using a none PFCO friend or relative to take aerial pictures of property.....
If you post on a non-monetized channel as public, and some stranger links it for profit? I suspect it's not your problem.
FlushVision
Premium Pilot
I would agree but then there is a copyright issue. If I post a video for public viewing and someone links to that video for commercial gain without my consent then that's a breach of copyright that I would seek to redress.
Confining this subject to Utube (Google) itself, the lack of FAA involvement is curious. The FAA and Google, to my knowledge, have ignored for profit video, for example, that provide hacks for drones bypassing geofencing in restricted airspace. Such video appears to be quite popular, garnering thousands of views. Apparently, some of this video has been reported to the FAA, with great concern, by licensed operators. To coin a phrase "what's up with that ?".
Some of that might come down to a 1st amendment issue. Murder is illegal, but it is not illegal for me to explain that one way to murder someone is to point a gun at them and pull the trigger.
