It seems the witch hunt will be postponed. Apparently some of the glaring flaws that the drone community pointed out about the FAA’s proposed public drone sightings website proposal may have (finally) become apparent to them – the FAA has withdrawn their Office of Management and Budget request for notice and comments on the project.

Saying that the document “contained errors, and needs further clarification,” the FAA filed an official notice to withdraw the agency’s “Notice to collect information to process and report Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) airborne and ground based observations by the public of drone behavior that they consider suspicious or illegal.”

The proposed website would have made it possible for anyone in the public to report a drone that they considered suspicious. The proposal was widely criticized, with many in the drone industry questioning the validity of publicly sourced data, and voicing concerns about the potential harassment of legitimate drone operators.