As we move into April, it's now less than 9 months before the US government automatically bans the licensing of new DJI drones unless a government agency conducts a review.
That's it, a simple bit of admin. It was mandated that it be conducted before the end of 2025 or a ban would come into force automatically and, three months into the year, nothing has happened so – understandably – DJI has sought to nudge things along a little with a letter.
The Chinese company, and leading manufacturer of civil drones, has written a letter to the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Defense, the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation), the NSA (National Security Agency), and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence requesting that "any or all" of the agencies begin an investigation into DJI's products "right away."
DJI shared a copy of the text with me, in which the company plainly states it has nothing to hide.
There is no apparent frustration from the letter's author, DJI's head of policy Adam Walsh – who I interviewed about this very risk last year. DJI users, on the other hand, might be forgiven for feeling unreasonably targeted by Section 1709 of the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act which gives rise to this legal situation.
As the company phrases it, matter of factly, "If you [any of the government agencies] do not evaluate DJI’s products in 2025, the FCC would also have to add the company’s equipment to its covered list, depriving DJI of its due process and depriving thousands of businesses, consumers, and public safety agencies of products that they want and need for no reason at all."
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