The FCC Could Retroactively Ban These Legally-Sold Drones

The tide of troubles for drone giant DJI is getting fiercer. For over a year, DJI has faced everything from customs troubles with imports to being labeled as a participant within China's "defense industrial base" as the company fights to salvage both its reputation and market presence in the US. Now, DJI is in for more bad news, as the United States Federal Communications Commission (US FCC) has unanimously voted in favor of new rules that give it the power to ban radio equipment, even if it is legally being sold in the country.

The FCC's proposal doesn't explicitly mention DJI, and instead broadly talks about modular transmitters. However, it clearly cites a report on how drones can prove to be a national security risk as they can "passively map infrastructure for future targeting" at the behest of China's military industrial complex. DJI has been the most high-profile name in the debate lately, but it has repeatedly denied any security risks posed by its drone and welcomed security audits after having passed a few such evaluations in the past few years over similar concerns.

The latest move by the FCC gives it overarching powers to impose a ban, which even extends to gear already authorized to enter and sell in the US. According to the Fact Sheet released by the agency, the Equipment Authorization Program covering the radio transmitters would "provide a procedure to limit previously granted authorizations of covered equipment to prohibit the continued importation and marketing of such equipment, without limiting continued operation or use." This wouldn't impact DJI gear already owned by consumers, and any ban would be implemented on a case-by-case basis. 

The latest rule change by the US FCC would not only block DJI but also limit the brand's access to the US market under a new name, or even if it just participates in the manufacturing of devices by an entirely different company. The FCC says it will assess "involvement in any stage of the process by which a device comes into existence." That means if DJI is found involved in the designing, manufacturing, assembling, or development of a drone (or any other product with a radio transmitter) under a different brand identity or on behalf of another company, the product could face an import and sales ban in the US. Notably, over the past few months, DJI's work has been spotted in products with a different branding. 

Unfortunately, this is where the situation gets even trickier. DJI has yet to receive the crucial security audit clearance from an authorized government agency, with a DJI spokesperson telling The Verge, "More than ten months have now passed with no sign that the process has begun." If the company doesn't get the appropriate clearance, it will face an automatic ban. DJI is already facing an impending import ban on US soil by December 23, 2025, unless it obtains clearance from a government agency that its equipment doesn't pose a national security risk. 

If DJI is not greenlit, the company will be added to the Covered List, a group of banned companies deemed a national security risk as per the guidelines laid out by the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act of 2019. The list already includes familiar names such as Huawei, ZTE, and Kaspersky Lab.