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The Countering CCP Drones Act, introduced by NY Representative Elise Stefanik, could effectively limit the usage of Chinese-manufactured drones in the US: and will be voted upon this month. (Stefanik also recently introduced the Drones for First Responders Act, a separate bill which calls for banning the import of drones from China after 5 years.)
Understanding the Countering CCP Drones Act: A Legislative Overview
The Countering CCP Drones Act, introduced by Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, focuses on the inclusion of DJI Technologies’ equipment and services in an inventory of covered communications equipment that pose national security risks, in accordance with the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act of 2019. This move is an element of a broader effort to secure U.S. communications networks. Adding DJI to the list could prevent the corporate from accessing spectrum for the communications and control of their drones.
DJI Technologies, based in China, is the biggest drone manufacturer on the earth: their market share has been estimated at between 65% and 90% of the world’s fleet. DJI has faced increasing pressure from the U.S. government over national security and data privacy concerns. In the primary half of 2024, several federal and state laws proposals have been introduced to limit the usage of Chinese-manufactured drone technology, while encouraging the usage of domestically produced equipment to support the U.S. manufacturing sector.
The Countering CCP Drones Act could possibly be decided upon shortly. The U.S. House of Representatives Armed Services Committee has included the Countering CCP Drones Act of their draft of the FY 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), a big defense policy bill. The Senate Committee will review the NDAA on June 12.
Why is Congress Considering the Act?
As geopolitical tensions mount all over the world, the US has been working to minimize reliance on Chinese-made technology, in what some observers call the “Huawei effect.” This refers to digital communications giant Huawei, whose products were banned within the US in 2012 because of security concerns, and who was added to the US “entity” list in 2019. (DJI was placed on the US “entity” list in 2020.)
Moreover, incidents unrelated to drones or DJI have led to rising fears of Chinese government-backed hacking campaigns. A bulletin produced by the FBI and CISA stated: “Using Chinese-manufactured UAS in critical infrastructure operations risks exposing sensitive information to PRC authorities, jeopardizing U.S. national security, economic security, and public health and safety.” The bulletin was issued in the identical month as US authorities announced that they’d dismantled “Volt Typhoon,” a China-backed hacking operation targeting critical infrastructure through infecting routers and IoT devices with malware.
Chinese corporations are required by China’s law to permit government access to their servers and systems upon request, resulting in concerns that DJI could possibly be compelled to share data with the CCP in the longer term, if geopolitical pressures warranted. Some engineers also fear that signing in and authenticating through the flight control systems and other platform components could provide an entry point for hackers to access US corporations.
Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, who introduced the bill, says: “The advancement of my bipartisan bills, the Countering CCP Drones Act and the FACT Act is a win for America’s national security and a win for Americans whose data and significant infrastructure has been collected and monitored by our adversary Communist China. Congress must use every tool at our disposal to stop Communist China’s monopolistic control over the drone market and telecommunications infrastructure and construct up America’s industrial capability.”
Rating Member of the Select Committee on the CCP, Raja Krishnamoorthi, commented: “Based on DJI’s ties to the CCP, the Administration has shown that DJI is a threat to our national security and has already placed the corporate on multiple government entity lists. Our laws will further protect our communications equipment while strengthening American supply chains by ensuring foreign-manufactured technologies that pose serious security threats, akin to DJI’s, cannot operate in American networks.”
DJI’s Response to the Act
DJI Technologies has defended their investments in security and data protection repeatedly, emphasizing the indisputable fact that users can decide to operate in secure mode and never share data. DJI responded to the proposed laws on their company blog.
“This laws goals to dam recent DJI products from entering the U.S. market, and will also result in the revocation of their existing FCC authorizations. If this passes, U.S. operators would now not have the option to access recent DJI drones, and their existing drone fleets may even should be grounded.
This act damages not only DJI, but additionally the broad ecosystem of operators, businesses and public safety agencies that depend on their technologies to conduct secure and efficient operations.
The lawmakers driving this laws proceed to reference inaccurate and unsubstantiated allegations regarding DJI’s operations, and have amplified xenophobic narratives in a quest to support local drone manufacturers and eliminate market competition.”
Impact on DJI and U.S. Operators
If enacted, the laws could prevent recent DJI products from entering the U.S. market and potentially revoke existing FCC authorizations for his or her equipment. This might impact U.S. operators who depend on DJI drones, possibly requiring them to ground their existing fleets and seek alternative technologies, a lot of that are dearer. In a recent NY Times article, DroneAnalyst David Benowitz estimated that 58% of US drone operators are currently using DJI drones. Moreover, many ecosystem players depend on existing integration with DJI drones for his or her businesses.
The Drone Advocacy Alliance strongly opposes the bill, stating: “Put bluntly, this bill would have a large negative impact on tens of millions of Americans who use these [DJI] drones for public safety, commercially and recreationally. It will hamper public safety efforts, putting lives on the road, and drastically reduce the drone market, resulting in rising costs and product shortages for all users.”
In recent Congressional testimony, Michael Robbins, President of the Association for Uncrewed Vehicles and Systems International, AUVSI, called for a balanced approach that may protect existing drone programs while funding development for US drone manufacturing:
AUVSI believes that we must move away from being reliant on Chinese corporations and mental property for our drones, because the U.S. is doing with other critical technologies. An affordable, common sense transition is required to make sure that these critical lifesaving tools can be found to public safety, while at the identical time we move rapidly to diversify manufacturing and technology supply lines outside of China.
If passed, there is no such thing as a doubt that the Countering CCP Drones Act could have a big impact on the US drone industry. Because the bill moves through the legislative process, its implications will proceed to be closely monitored.
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