It might be coming much sooner than you think (and as noted above, is to some extent already here). The new EASA Regulations which are due to come into force on 1 July 2020 will require new drones in classes C1, C2 and C3 (i.e. most drones in the >250g range) to:
That’s an extract from the Implementing Regulations Annex for class C1, but the same text applies to C2 and C3 drones.
Nobody really knows how these regs will be implemented yet, but I read that as saying that new CE-marked drones from the main manufacturers are all expected to come with pilot-location identification switched on, as indeed existing DJI drones are already doing anyway. However, I haven’t seen any sign that drones are appearing with the C0, C1 etc labels yet, so although the regs are supposed to apply from July, we’ll all be flying legacy models under legacy permissions for some time yet.
PS: I don’t think I ever reported back on the conclusion of my discussions with the ICO about whether any of this breaches Data Protection legislation. Their view is that, no, it does not. Here’s what their case officer had to say:
Dear Sir,
Thank you for your email of 28 November 2019.
As you have mentioned, DJI would not be operating as a data controller for the information which is emitted by the drones, and would not have responsibility for that data.
If the data being emitted can be used to identify individuals then you may wish to raise this with the creator of the product. However, I would suggest that the emission of that information would not necessarily be personal data, and may need to be disclosed by law.
If an individual tracks a user using this data in an inappropriate way this could be constituted as harassment. If this happens the police would be the appropriate authority to contact.