regulatory safety

Craig Zucker founded Buckyballs, a desk toy of small magnets that can be stacked into infinite shapes. But "perhaps more than 1,000" kids have swallowed the magnets and needed to undergo surgery, The Washington Post reports. Now the Consumer Product Safety Commission is seeking to hold Zucker personally liable for the $57 million recall because he dissolved his business, The Post further reports: "The commission supported that move with a legal precedent known as the Park doctrine, which allows the government to criminally prosecute corporate officers for failing to prevent violations of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act."

sUAS News, a blog that follows news on small unmanned aerial systems (or drones), opined last week that "it is rare that industries come to Washington begging for more regulation. But that is how we in the unmanned systems business find ourselves with respect to small unmanned aerial systems (SUAS). A notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) has been on the shelf for years. We need to move forward before a serious accident occurs."

Rulemaking for small drones might finally be moving ahead. The Federal Aviation Authority just announced a roadmap for the integration of  private drones into America's airspace. The roadmap takes on important issues like privacy, civil liberties and national security.

Remember that scene in West Wing in which Toby Ziegler wanted to use his cell phone while in the air on a commercial passenger jet? Well, he still wouldn't be able to make a cell phone call, but he could read his e-book, listen to a podcast or watch a video. The New York Times reports an advisory panel to the Federal Aviation Authority is expected to make such a proposal soon. "The guidelines are expected to allow reading e-books or other publications, listening to podcasts, and watching videos, according to several of the panel’s members who requested anonymity because they could not comment on the recommendations," according to the report. "The ban on making phone calls, as well as sending and receiving e-mails and text messages or using Wi-Fi, is expected to remain in place, the panel members said."