Obama Defends ‘Incredibly Useful’ Drones

Secret Service officers search the south grounds of the White House in Washington, Monday,
AP Photo/Susan Walsh

President Obama is remaining calm, but calling for more regulation, after news that a drone crash-landed at the White House while he was halfway around the world.

In an interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria during his trip to India, Obama defended drones, pointing out their “incredible useful functions” and their ability to “empower individuals.”

“These technologies that we’re developing have the capacity to empower individuals in ways that we couldn’t even imagine 10-15 years ago,” Obama said, pointing out that companies such as Amazon were already exploring the use of drones to deliver packages.

“There are incredibly useful functions that these drones can play in terms of farmers who are managing crops and conservationists who want to take stock of wildlife.” Obama said. “So there are a whole range of things we can do with it, but we don’t really have any kind of regulatory structure at all for it.”

Obama indicated he was working with several government agencies to properly regulate the use of drones in America.

He cited the importance of a regulatory structure that would “get the good and minimize the bad,” while making sure that drones, “aren’t dangerous and that they are not violating people’s privacy.”

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