Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives jammed a functional ban on DJI drones, called the “Countering CCP Drones Act” into a military funding bill that it then passed. The bill would put DJI drones, which are made in China, onto a Federal Communications Commission “covered list” alongside other banned Chinese tech companies, meaning that new drones would not be approved to use the communications infrastructure they need in order to operate. The ban could possibly ground existing drones, as well.
This potential ban is a uniquely American clusterfuck that is arguably even worse than the TikTok ban in its absurdity because of the specifics of how we got here: There is no evidence that China is spying on DJI drones, the drone features that make lawmakers worried about “spying” were originally introduced because of U.S. regulations and government pressure, and, for drone hobbyists, there are not really any American-made drone alternatives that can step in to replace DJI’s spot in the market.