NOS.co.uk, 11 December 2014: 'First drones lawsuit against journalist'

"Photojournalist Roel Dijkstra has been fined 500 euros for using a drone. Dijkstra was in court in Rotterdam today for using his model helicopter to take footage near Rotterdam The Hague Airport. According to the aviation police, the drone posed a danger to the approach route.

The journalist disagrees. He argues that his drone does not go higher than 50 to 100 metres and therefore poses no danger. "If the drone flies higher, I won't be able to take good photos anyway," he says. "Moreover, the drone did not fly higher than the second floor, say about nine metres high."

Trial

Dijkstra contacted the Netherlands Union of Journalists (NVJ) in response to his fine. The association wants to provoke a test case because it is almost impossible for journalists to use a drone.

According to the NVJ, the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment has already acknowledged that the regulations are unworkable for journalists.

(...) Privacy First also already sounded the alarm. That organisation finds the regulations for drones very vague.

Dom and Efteling

A number of drone films have made the news in recent months. These included a boy from Brabant filming amusement park De Efteling and a man from Utrecht filming the Dom tower in the fog.
During the European Championship qualifier match between Serbia and Albania, a drone appeared above the pitch carrying an Albanian flag.

The judge will rule on the case against Dijkstra in a fortnight' time."

Source: http://nos.nl/artikel/2008469-eerste-drones-rechtszaak-tegen-journalist.html, 11 December 2014.