The U.S. Senate finally passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), confirming the 2025 U.S. military budget. “Anti-Chinese Drone Law”,’ which DJI drones will be banned Immediately, is omitted.
law (PDF, page 1084) calls for “appropriate national agencies” to conduct analyzes of certain UAS entities (specifically DJI and drone manufacturer Autel Robotics). Safety mechanism. If this analysis is not completed within one year from the law’s effective date, the manufacturer’s products and services will automatically be placed on the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) list, effectively barring both companies (and their subsidiaries, affiliates, partners) and even licensees) from the United States.
On the other hand, if the selected agency (which may be the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the National Security Agency, or the FBI) finds that DJI’s products and services “do not pose a threat to the national security of the United States or the safety and security of Americans Unacceptable risk” then all other agencies must agree on their findings within six months.
The law has already passed the House and Senate, so it’s up to President Biden to make any changes. This is unlikely to happen, however, as the NDAA has strong bipartisan support and delaying it could harm the White House. That’s good news for the drone company, since it’s not outright banned in the U.S. — but it still has a little more than a year to find an agency willing to work with it. Otherwise, it will have to leave the United States by 2026.
The ban will not affect current DJI owners. Assume, though, that the company doesn’t get a reprieve next year. In this case, it would affect every DJI product with a radio and/or video camera, as the law affects all “communications or video surveillance equipment” produced by DJI. This means that the ban will not only be limited to DJI drones, but also include popular devices such as DJI Osmo series action cameras and stabilizers, DJI microphone wireless lavaliers, and even professional-grade DJI Ronin cameras and stabilizers.
despite this, DJI Blog The company called the development good news and said it “welcomes the review and looks forward to the opportunity to showcase our privacy controls and security features.”
the company does have some concerns, and called on Congress to “designate a relevant, technology-focused agency to ensure that assessments are evidence-based” and should “give DJI a fair right to respond to any findings.”
These are unlikely to be added to the law as it has already been sent to the White House for signature. But at least it gives DJI time to find a way around its predicament. However, the company appears to have yet to face its biggest challenge – finding an agency to take on the task of proving that it does not pose a security threat to the United States – especially from Trump, who is known for his aggressive trade policies towards China. Taking office in January.