DJI evades US drone ban – but could be automatically banned unless Trump intervenes

The US Senate passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the annual defense spending bill, and it could have major consequences for the world’s largest drone company – though not the current ban that China’s DJI had feared.

Although it did not contain the full provisions of the “Anti-CCP Cartography Act” that would have immediately banned the importation of DJI products into the United States, it instead begins a one-year countdown until its products (and those of competitor Autel Robotics) are sold out. automatically prohibited.

If DJI cannot convince the “appropriate national security agency” to publicly declare that its products “do not pose an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States,” the action directs the FCC to add DJI’s products to its covered “list.” The Secure and Reliable Communications Network Act. That list not only keeps that gear from working on US networks, it prevents the FCC from approving its indoor radios for use in the US, effectively banning all imports.

While none of this would have stopped US citizens from continuing to use their existing DJI gadgets, it just wouldn’t have prevented new DJI drones from being imported into the United States. Every DJI product with a radio or camera, like The Verge The favorite DJI Osmo Pocket 3, will be technically blocked. (The NDAA doesn’t just specify drones, but rather video communication devices.)

The text of the bill (PDF, see pp. 1084-1088) should theoretically prevent DJI from using the loophole to white label its drones under other brand names or license its technology, again, as it appears to have done with the Anzu Robotics Raptor and and Cogito. Specta. The bill specifically tells the FCC to add “any affiliate, subsidiary, or partner” and “any entity with which the named entity has a technology sharing or licensing agreement” to the covered list, as well.

The bill has already passed the House of Representatives and is headed to President Biden’s desk, where it is considered a sign that it must be signed: it could cause a partial shutdown of the government if it is not signed, and it has already passed both houses of Congress with strong bipartisan support.

So it will be up to the Trump administration whether they want to bail out the Chinese drone company, a year after he took office. Trump may not need to lift a finger if he would like to see fewer DJI products in the country, so the ball is in DJI’s court. It won’t be surprising if DJI tries to get time with Trump soon – just like TikTok, which is facing a ban.

In a blog post, DJI calls it “good news” that the NDAA doesn’t outright ban DJI products, but says the US government is subjecting Chinese drones to surveillance, and is concerned that the law doesn’t specify the government. agency to perform the task of determining whether it poses a risk.

“This means that DJI will be prevented from introducing new products to the US market through no fault of its own, but because no agency has chosen to undertake the work of studying our products,” the company wrote. It calls on Congress to appoint “a technology-focused agency to ensure that testing is evidence-based,” and to give the company an opportunity to respond.