There's news for photographers who work with drones. On October 5, the Federal Aviation Adminstration (FAA) Reauthorization Act was signed into law. The passing of the bill provides funding to the FAA for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), air traffic controllers, changes to airline regulations and new guidelines for drones.

While many of the changes are meant to bring about a more pleasant experience for airline passengers, the funding for the FAA to provide greater regulation of drones has drawn some critics. Most notably, the bill gives the government permission to shoot down any drone that “is identified as high-risk and a potential target for unlawful unmanned aircraft activity.”

Privacy groups and some from the drone community believe the law doesn’t have enough safeguards in place to keep the federal authorities from abusing it since they wouldn’t need to first obtain a warrant. Other new conditions for the recreational use of drones were posted by the FAA, and they will be providing updated details and guidelines as they implement the new legislation. You can see the full FAA Reauthorization Act at congress.gov.