- Drone maker DJI has escaped the US import ban for now.
- The company has one year to prove its security or it will be automatically banned.
- DJI protests that Chinese companies are being unfairly singled out
DJI is the largest drone manufacturer in the world, and its products are so good that they take seven of the top 10 spots on our list of the best drones money can buy. But that hasn’t stopped it from facing increased scrutiny in the US, and while the company has barely escaped being banned outright in the US, things could look very different a year from now.
So what happened? Well, the United States Senate just passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which allocates defense spending for the year. To DJI’s relief, it did not contain any provision of the CCP’s Counter-Drone Act, which sought to essentially block imports of all DJI products into the United States.
But DJI is not out of the woods yet. The NDAA has started a one-year countdown, during which DJI has to demonstrate that its products do not pose a risk to US national security. If you can’t, all your devices will automatically be banned in the United States, as will those from rival firm Autel Robotics.
DJI must prove its innocence to “an appropriate national security agency” (which has not yet been named). Otherwise, the FCC will add DJI products to its “covered list,” which would prevent DJI devices from working on US networks and prevent the FCC from authorizing the use of its internal radios in the United States. Basically, it would be an import ban.
Ground flights
DJI is a Chinese company that has sparked anger and suspicion among American lawmakers. As with many Chinese companies, some in the United States are concerned that DJI may have too close ties to Chinese authorities and that its products could pose a national security threat.
In a blog post, DJI responded to the allegations by saying it “welcomes the scrutiny and looks forward to the opportunity to demonstrate our privacy controls and security features.” The company also claims that Chinese companies are being unfairly singled out and is concerned that the US government has not yet assigned an agency to conduct the assessment; If no agency takes over, DJI will automatically be banned, he believes.
The NDAA has been passed by both the US House of Representatives and the Senate, meaning it only requires President Biden’s signature. While Biden will almost certainly sign it, having received bipartisan support, it remains to be seen what action – if any – President-elect Trump will take once he takes office in January. If you’re a fan of DJI drones, you’ll need to take a closer look at them or start looking into alternative options.
