Recap of Amazon Legislator Meeting
UPDATE: Amazon Drone Delivery
Amazon answered a lot of questions today. That does not mean their answers satisfied us.
Legislators representing the affected communities had a 90+ minute meeting with Amazon today. Here are some of the most important things I learned:
The reported “pause” is not because of public opposition. Amazon needs additional time to amend its launch-site plans. At this point, it appears unlikely that deliveries will begin before the new year. But this is not a pause to honor resident concerns, let's be clear about that.
Every legislator from the affected towns pressed Amazon on noise, safety, privacy, jobs, environment, quality of life, and community impact.
I focused heavily on privacy and the cameras aboard these drones. Amazon says the cameras generally do not record, but acknowledged footage may be retained when a delivery cannot be completed or when the drone reports an error or incident. That footage could be captured while the drone is approximately 15 feet above the ground.
Amazon repeatedly argued that humans would not access this footage and, at times, suggested there essentially is no footage. I rejected that premise. If data can be recorded and retained when something goes wrong, then the data exists. I want much clearer answers about what is captured, when it is saved, who can access it, and how long it is retained.
Amazon told us it has no reports of injuries in its other delivery areas.
Customers can opt out, and not every property will qualify for drone delivery; trees, power lines and other obstacles may make some locations ineligible.
Amazon says its drones operate at approximately 40 decibels. I will be formally requesting the documentation and testing data supporting that claim in my response letter.
I am currently researching if local noise ordinances can apply, making that decibel level make it unlawful to operate in that town.
Amazon has committed to public education and open community meetings before any rollout. I believe those meetings need to happen before decisions are made, not after, and it does seem that Amazon agrees.
Finally, several of us are now discussing legislation that would give municipalities and our residents a voice in whether drone delivery operates in their communities, potentially through a local referendum after sufficient public hearings and community education.
If Amazon wants to use the airspace over our neighborhoods as part of its delivery network, the people who live there should be fully informed, and ultimately, they should get to decide whether they want it.
