The US House of Representatives has taken another step towards passing the “Countering CCP Drones Act” into law, effectively forbidding federal agencies from buying – or contracting out services to companies that employ – Chinese manufactured drones such as those from DJI and Autel. According to Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, one of the proponents of the bill, prohibiting Chinese manufactured drones from operating on US communications infrastructure:
“The advancement of my legislation the Countering CCP Drones Act is critical for American national security. Communist Chinese drones present a serious national security risk to our country and it is time for Congress to act. Communist Chinese companies that engage in espionage activities and collect sensitive data from American citizens and entities should not be allowed to operate in the United States and this legislation is the first step to prohibiting Chinese drone companies from freely operating on America’s communications infrastructure,”
According to a previous statement from DJI on the issue.
“DJI places the highest priority on data privacy – and puts customers in control of their data’s use. Our rival drone-makers are stirring up xenophobia to eliminate market competition. We ask you to look at the facts: DJI already adopts the standards outlined in the FBI’s recent memo. Indeed, many agencies and enterprises also employ those standards when using DJI drones.”
The impact of this measure on commercial drone activities in the USA – and among government agency drone operations elsewhere in the world – will be explored in more detail by Unmanned Airspace shortly.
(Image: Shutterstock)
