Chinese Drone Maker Has One Year to Avoid Ban by Congress

What Happened?

The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) contains a clause that would automatically trigger a ban of drone manufacturing giant DJI in one year.

That’s unless the company can ‘prove to an appropriate national security agency’ that the company’s products ‘do not pose an unacceptable risk to the security of the United States.’

The new NDAA also instructed the FCC to add DJI’s gear to its ‘covered list’ under the Secure and Trusted Communication Networks Act.

That means DJI products are prohibited from running on US networks, and the FCC is barred from authorizing their internal radios for use in the US.

The practical effect of both of those provisions would be to stop all imports sold by DJI.

Why it Matters

DJI is a technology company headquartered in Shehnzen, China. It currently accounts for 90% of the world commercial drone market. U.S. citizens who already own drones made by DJI could continue to operate them even if a ban went into effect next year.

But new drones manufactured by DJI couldn’t be imported after that. If a ban did go into effect, all DJI products containing radios or cameras would be included. The legislation passed both chambers of Congress with strong bipartisan support.

According to Sean Hollister of The Verge:

‘The text of the bill… should theoretically prevent DJI from exploiting the loophole of whitelabeling its drones under other brand names or licensing its technology, too, as it seemed to be doing with the Anzu Robotics Raptor and Cogito Specta. The bill explicitly tells the FCC to add “any subsidiary, affiliate, or partner” and “any entity to which the named entity has a technology sharing or licensing agreement” to the covered list, too.’

Despite the potential for a ban in the U.S., DJI’s head of global policy Adam Welsh recently stated the company has no intention of abandoning sales in the U.S. That makes sense considering the U.S. represents almost half the total global market for commercial drone sales.

How it Affects You

Drone sales have surged in the U.S. in the past several years. The increasing number of small, commercial drones in the skies has in turn created a new set of safety and security challenges.

From unauthorized drones flying over military and government installations to the recent sightings in New York and New Jersey. The proliferation of drones has caught both the American public and the U.S. government unprepared.

Countering drones is surprisingly difficult. Because they are so small many are hard to see even in daylight.

While the military has invested significant resources in developing counter-drone technology, very little of those new innovations are available to communities, cities, or average citizens.

Drones, and the challenges they pose, are most likely here to stay.