T

he Indonesian Press Council (PWI) criticized the Transportation Ministry'€™s regulation No. 90/2015 on Thursday because some of the contents of the regulation might limit journalistic activity involving video.

The government initiated the ministerial regulation, which has been operational as of May, to control the operation of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), widely known as drones.

Drones have been widely used by journalists to take quality aerial imagery or video.

'€œThe rapid development of technology has radically affected journalism,'€ a council member Ninok Leksono said during a meeting between representatives from the Transportation Ministry and journalists at the council'€™s offices last week.

The council said that it was important for the country to have a regulation that controlled the operation of drones, but that the regulation should not limit the ability of journalists to use drones.

'€œA journalist is already bound by journalistic ethics, so they wouldn'€™t misuse drones for something else,'€ another council member Imam Wahyudi said.

Imam added that a drone is actually just a tool like a camera or a voice recorder.

'€œTherefore, the regulation should not affect the content of the tools,'€ Imam added.

The ministerial regulation prohibits drones in several areas, including airports, the Presidential Palace and military bases.

'€œThe government has issued the regulation for the sake of public safety,'€ the ministry'€™s special public information officer Hadi Mustofa Djuraid said.

Hadi pointed out that the ministry was open for criticism and discussion if any part of the regulation needed to be revised.

Moreover, the regulation also rules that the maximum height that drones can fly at is 152 meters and that a report should be filed to the ministry'€™s air transportation directorate general if a drone forays above the determined height.

'€œThe operator should submit a permission request to the directorate general for air transportation at least 14 days before the operation,'€ the ministry'€™s air navigation director Novi Riyanto said.

Novi added that the government had to set the maximum height at 500 feet to avoid potential disasters like colliding with airplanes or helicopters.

Eddy Hasby, a photojournalist and editor from Kompas daily, said that the maximum height set by the government would prevent journalists from reaching the best angle for photography or film.

'€œSometimes we need to fly more than 150 meters to get a desirable angle,'€ Eddy said while showing a photograph of the Cipali Toll Road that was taken at around 400 meters above-ground.

PWI hopes that the ministry will also involve the council in establishing standards for drone operators.

'€œWe need to make sure that operators have the necessary skills to fly drones,'€ Imam said. (ind)