The pandemic has put strain on the American economy. In addition to economic concerns, there are new emerging technology and security issues with Chinese drone maker, DJI. Drones are a big part of the international dispute. 

A Wired article earlier this month speculated that U.S. drone companies could benefit from the geopolitical problems. Skydio, a Silicon Valley drone maker, is positioned to take advantage of the continued conflict, filling the void left by bans on Chinese-made tech.

DJI China leads the world in drone technology

Today DJI China is the biggest international drone maker. Unfortunately, they are likely also controlled by the Chinese Communist Party, which pressures many Chinese businesses to share data on foreign rivals with the Chinese government. 

FAA data indicates DJI China provides 77% of the drones used in the U.S. These “made in China” drones have military, police, and commercial applications. DJI has large international sales for these uses.

The drone technology was initially developed for the Chinese military, to track targets and relay information from the air. But by 2012, large drones were capable of advanced delivery of guided missiles.

U.S. security concerns regarding Chinese drones

The U.S. drone industry had a promising start. But from 2016 to 2018, the American drone industry was collapsing. And companies like 3D Robotics and Airware were going bankrupt. There was no way they could compete with the low cost of manufacturing in China.

In 2017, the U.S. army banned the use of DJI drones over concerns that DJI was transmitting information collected using the devices to the Chinese government.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency memo outlined concerns. With Chinese made drones it was possible to "compromise your data and share information on a server accessed beyond the company itself."

Immigration and Customs Enforcement banned DJI drones claiming they were "selectively targeting government and privately owned entities" to steal sensitive data for China.

Lawmakers responded with the National Defense Authorization Act. The bill banned Chinese drones for military use. 

Free pandemic drones complicate the situation

Tensions flared up again in April, 2020, when DJI donated drones to the U.S. They sent drones to 43 law enforcement organizations operating in 22 states. The drones were being used to monitor and surveil hard to reach places.

"Think about this for a second. This virus originated in Communist China and the Communist Party’s lies helped it spread around the world." Senator Rick Scott tweeted. "Now we’re using drones made by a Chinese company and backed by the CCP to enforce social distancing. This is crazy!"

The Senate is considering legislation to ban all U.S. agencies from using drones if the country is officially considered a "national security threat." China is on the top of the list.

DJI still insists they never sent videos back to China. And they custom-built drones for governmental use that don’t have internet capabilities.

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