Well… the United States House of Representatives passed a ban on future sales of DJI drones in the US on Friday, which means we’re looking down the barrel of a DJI ban in the US coming into effect under the “Countering CCP Drones Act.”
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The upcoming “Countering CCP Drones Act” is a part of the United States’ 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (FY25 NDAA) which is a major piece of yearly legislation put aside for defense spending in the year ahead. DJI is a Chinese-owned company with a gigantic 70% of the world’s drone market share, making US lawmakers a little nervous.
Around 6% of DJI stock is owned by Chinese state-owned businesses, which is leading to fears that the Chinese government has backdoors in DJI drones flying over US soil, national security risks, and other worries about China’s surveillance. Another big issue is that US lawmakers are worried that DJI’s continued success would strengthen the Chinese economy.
Elise Stefanik, a Republican representative from New York who is sponsoring the anti-DJI legislation, said about the drones: “DJI presents an unacceptable national security risk, and it is past time that drones made by Communist China are removed from America“.
There are some other issues at play here: the US military and US police have been using drones in law enforcement, with DJI drones also used in the Russian conflict against Ukraine, which is another thing that US lawmakers are worried about, though DJI has denounced all military use of its drones.
The current legislation wouldn’t stop the use of DJI drones that have already been purchased in the US, only the sale of DJI products in the US from here on out. This move would stop the popular and high-end drones from being sold by DJI in the United States.
The Countering the CCP Drones Act is popular in Congress, but it could still be stopped, with US residents who disagree with the bill urged to contact their US senators asking for the Countering CCP Drones Act to be dropped by the NDAA.