After months of deliberation and pauses, the U.S Government has finally passed a ban on the sale of new DJI drones.
On September 10 of 2024, the US House of Representatives passed HR 2864 or the Countering CCP Drones Act with support from both Democrats and Republicans.
The new law adds DJI to the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Covered List, which will basically prohibit any new models of DJI drones from being used with communications networks on U.S. soil.
In effect, that prohibition makes the new law a ban on new DJI drones since using them by default means working through one of the communications networks covered by the FTC’s Covered List.
The bill was first introduced by a Republican congressional representative, Elise Stefanik of New York in April of 2023 and has since then spent over a year making its rounds through the federal legislative machinery.
Also, before it becomes a binding law, there are still two catches. The first of these is final approval in the US Senate, the upper house of the House of Representatives. The second is final approval by the U.S. President.
Thus, for now at least, DJI drones old and new are still legally usable in the United States and final approval of the bill so that it becomes law could take months or longer.
However, given the current administration’s support for numerous recent measures against major Chinese technology companies, approval by both the Senate and the President’s office is at least plausible.
Banning future sales of new DJI drones is no minor matter for the U.S-based UAV market either since DJI is the go-to brand for more than half of all drone purchases for both private and commercial uses in the country.
With such a massive presence by DJI on the U.S drone market, a ban of its UAVs will open a huge gap for new drone models that will have to be filled somehow.
On the other hand, the ban doesn’t apply to existing DJI drones that are currently available or will soon be available.
One of HR 2864’s main supporters, Representative Frank Pallone, a Democrat who also serves on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, claims that the bill will safeguard US infrastructure from potential risks caused by DJI’s tiny commercial drones.
However dubious this notion might seem to some, Pallone’s views are widely shared by many other representatives.
He further states in an X tweet, “With this action, Congress will ensure that future versions of DJI drones cannot be imported, marketed, or sold in the United States,” We’ll have to see about this. Even now, some sites are seeing only a 31% likelihood of HR 2864 becoming a real, live law.
The most specific fear held by US officials regarding DJI’s drones is the idea that the Chinese government could gain access to their internal data and use it to undermine US infrastructure.
DJI for its part strenuously denies any of these claims and has flatly stated that the company does not share sensitive information with any government.
According to DJI, “To be clear: while critics have propagated a multi-year political campaign alleging security issues with DJI drones, third-party audits, and end-user testimony have reflected otherwise,”
The company further asserts that this new law harms US drone operators by heavily restricting their ability to choose the best equipment for their different needs:
“DJI has been the drone of choice for public safety in the US for years — and with good reason. The reliability and robustness of DJI’s drone platforms have helped numerous public safety agencies save lives and keep first responders safe… Losing access to the best equipment available in the market means losing access to critical situational awareness in all forms of high-stakes situations, risking American lives.”
It could be that the U.S Government, knowing the above, is pushing for this ban against DJI in particular to encourage the rise of a U.S drone maker that can overtake the Chinese company’s dominance.
This would however be more than a bit difficult for any other brand to pull off quickly. Currently, DJI holds 70% of the global drone market, aside from its roughly 50% share of the U.S market.
With all of the above, there’s still no certainty that the bill will pass in the first place.
The upcoming U.S presidential election could easily unbalance the bill’s prospects for final, presidential approval. Even if it’s eventually passed by the Senate, that process too could take many more months to complete, or break.
