On April 26, Beijing time, Phoenix.com Science and Technology News. Drones made by DJI are popular in the United States, but they are seen as a national security threat by Washington politicians. The U.S. Congress is pushing a bill to grounding DJI drones in the United States.
Currently, the U.S. Congress is considering placing DJI on the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) blacklist, prohibiting it from operating on U.S. communications infrastructure. This could put much of DJI's commercial business in the U.S. in a desperate situation.
The bill has bipartisan support in the United States, but DJI has launched a fierce lobbying campaign. DJI hopes that U.S. users will convince lawmakers that the continued flight of DJI drones is beneficial to the United States.
However, DJI's lobbying activities have been questioned by members of the US Congress. Rep. Elise Stefanic, Republican of New York, said: "DJI poses an unacceptable national security risk, and Chinese-made drones should have been withdrawn from the United States long ago." ”
Stefanic said DJI drones pose a national security risk
This bill would actually cause DJI's drones to be grounded in the United States. Last month, the House Energy and Commerce Committee voted unanimously to pass the bill. A lobbyist briefed on the plan and a China expert said the bill could be voted on in the House of Representatives in the next month or two. The bill is also likely to gain support in the Senate, which has imposed various restrictions on Chinese-made drones in recent years.
2024 is an election year in the United States, and both parties are eager to show a tough stance on China. On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate passed a TikTok divestiture bill that would force ByteDance to sell TikTok for up to a year or face it being taken off the shelves in the United States. On Wednesday, the TikTok stripping bill was signed into law by US President Joe Biden.
Like TikTok, DJI drones are also very popular in the United States. David Benowitz, a former DJI employee who works for U.S.-based drone manufacturer BRINC, estimates that in 2022, DJI drones accounted for 58% of the U.S. commercial drone market. DJI drones are also commonly used by U.S. law enforcement agencies. Although there is no up-to-date and precise data, a 2020 study by Bard College showed that DJI has a 90% drone presence among law enforcement agencies.
DJI's lobbying campaign is supported by grassroots users who fear that banning DJI's drones will be devastating and costly, especially if U.S. suppliers have not yet proven themselves competitive in terms of cost or quality.
Open Secrets, a nonprofit that tracks political funding, shows that DJI spent $1.6 million on lobbying last year. So far this year, the company has spent at least $310,000, some of which has been used to help emergency responders using DJI drones hold meetings with lawmakers, according to the company's lobbying disclosure in the Senate.
DJI also funds a website called the Drone Advocacy Coalition, which is run by its users, Vic Moss and Chris Fink. Part of the site's purpose is to raise awareness of the anti-DJI bill, which includes a template for contacting members of Congress directly.
DJI spokesperson Regina Lin said in a statement: "Our products are designed to promote the public interest and benefit society. ”
Note: The picture comes from the Internet