To further clarify since I didn't see the full context in this thread: this was not a "DJI ban". I've done a lot of reasearch on the matter, so I will share what I've learned in case anyone finds it interesting. I think this FCC action is a slippery slope to many more problems for us in the USA if we are not careful. There are similar laws (a topic for another thread) about kill switches in cars that are also allegedly for safety and security of citizens, just like the OK storm chaser ban, right?
To the facts I've found:
ALL foreign drones not already FCC approved by the effective date of 12/23/25 will not be able to be sold, supplied with repair parts, operated etc. That means something made in Canada or Germany is on the same FCC banned list going forward. All previously approved devices can be operated, sold, and may be able to get limited support or parts (we don't know yet). There has been zero talk of relaxing this ban. There is a blue list of approved drone suppliers (all of them are US enterprise and defense drones, nothing consumer) that gets an additional 1 year reprieve from the FCC ruling if no further exemptions are made.
DJI and Autel were the only two companies specifically named by the ruling, which means any of their products (gimbals, microphones, drones, action and 360 cams, etc) will also be effectively banned from future FCC approval and not available in USA. Sadly, they have the best products out there in many of these categories, and by FAR the most economical compared to USA brands. Most LEO and SAR, surveyors, real estate photogs, etc. use DJI because they cannot afford the clumsy tech that is quadruple the price from a US brand. The additional product ban on these two companies is absolutely ridiculous and was snuck in despite the law supposedly being just about drones. Is a gimbal or action camera REALLY a security risk, let alone a drone? Is someone afraid my Ronin gimbal will pinch their finger with its 'powerful' motor in war time? Give me a break. Anyone wanting to do harm to us has way better ways to do it than with consumer electronics that must be FAA/FCC registered to operate.
This FCC action looks to be the result of purely fear based legislation with a healthy dose of corruption, desire for control over the public, and protectionism thrown into it, and this was heavily bipartisan in conception and final support. (Just like the car kill switch law). The drone bill was initially sponsored by a bipartisan group of congress people from NY, FL, VA, IL. Hochul (gov. of NY) also ran her mouth over and over about drones, adding fuel to the fire. None of these politicians have presented compelling details to support the need for the law, just fear mongering. Lobbyist support is rumored to have come from Skydio (they deny this, but admit participation in 'discussions') and other US based enterprise drone players, none of which are even in the consumer market anymore. The bill triggering the FCC ban passed under Biden and went unchallenged under Trump who did nothing to initiate the proposed evidence based audit of the supposed security risks of the products. Independent audits have already cleared DJI of any major threat through their hardware or apps, but our brilliant government officials could care less.
To date I am unaware of any specific or adequate detailing of security fears, and nothing will stop people from mass manufacturing hobby drones with obtainable parts that are completely unknown/unregistered, similar to Ukraine. This bill is completely ineffective at its stated security goal (probably because the real goal was greed, control, fear). Tik Tok and software defined radio (SDR) are FAR larger security threats but no one is stopping those. Almost everything in consumer electronics is made in China or Asia, and no one is panicking about that. It takes very little to slip extra components onto a PCB in Chinese factories with no one the wiser. It has happened to Apple and other major manufacturers, and they remain unbanned. Why?
There are almost zero companies in the US even close (YEARS away) to making good consumer electronics such as cameras, drones, microphones, gimbals, audio gear, computer equipment, etc. Apple can get you a phone or laptop made in China if thats your brand for those things. Micron and Nvidia are largely US owned and designed but both abandoning consumers completely to glut on AI money. Samsung, LG, etc are all Asian owned and made. GoPro is the closest we have to a large US camera company and their products are very unreliable and low tech next to competitors in my direct experience (pverheating, freezing, not innovative, over priced). Canon, Nikon, Sony are Japanese. Most laptops and all PC component makers are Asian owned and made. Sennheisser and many good mic brands are European but manufactured in Asia. Even cars share the trend. Most US car brands score low on reliablity and very low on long term affordability, making them for many of us the worst possible buy - and funnily enough some US brands (Ford, GM are less than 50% US assembled) are still more foreign made in parts than foreign owned brands like Honda/Toyota who have large US manufacturing with 80% of the parts assembled here in the US.
I love to support local or US products, and I vehemently will back national security, but the bottom line is the US makes a lot of garbage products while still beating our chest about how Chinese junk is low quality. Sadly, almost everything is foreign manufactured or parts supplied are. Many things are designed here, but we won't be able to level the playing field with any economic tactics until perhaps manufacturing automation can fight back against cheap labor. All we are doing so far is punishing consumers and making the security situation worse while we fall behind.
The tariffs we are paying are a separate issue from the product FCC ban, and complete idiocy and ineffective in my opinion. AI is also making electronics prices skyrocket (GPUs, CPUs, chips, memory up 50-100% in price over the last year for consumers) and there is no plan to sustain any of these new markets if and when data center buildouts complete, let alone the water and power they need, similar to electric cars.
I don't know how a ban like this gets lifted since emotionalism and division now rules both parties from the public up to the elected officials and almost all major decisions that affect policy at local, state, and national levels are made based on identity, virtue signaling of one flavor or another, or partisan platform thinking. The amount of people upset about losing affordable and advaned consumer electronics like drones so far is very small compared to the legions of people that can be tapped to support fearful narratives or angry partisan positions... I've gotten off track here so will cut it off there, but to reiterate, I think this is much larger than a simple drone ban and I sincerely hope it does not expand to other products or companies, and I hope we can start to calm down and treat each other as fellow citizens and vote for people of subtance and nuanced fact based thought, not platform identity so that we can avoid further chaotic lawfare that has been going on over many administrations.
Just a note, I will not get involved in any overtly political discussion or assertions about this or that administration because I find it intellectually bereft of nuance and honesty, and it never achieves anything, so please no one take my comments as partisan in any way and hopefully no one is offended. Happy to discuss any specific fact or engage otherwise, but blatant political posts or opinions are one of the main reasons I stay away from stormtrack these days.
