The United States government is reportedly considering banning drones made by China’s DJI Technology Co., a major blow to the world’s largest maker of consumer and enterprise unmanned aerial vehicles.
The potential move comes just weeks after the U.S. forced the popular video-sharing app TikTok to sell its U.S. operations over national security concerns due to its Chinese parent company ByteDance.
According to multiple sources familiar with the discussions, various government agencies in the U.S. have been reviewing potential security risks associated with DJI’s data collection and maintenance.
DJI drones have already been banned for use by several U.S. government departments, including the Interior Department, over fears of potential leaking of sensitive information to China.
The Chinese tech giant has repeatedly denied such allegations of sharing data with the Chinese government.
However, tensions have continued to escalate between Washington and Beijing over data privacy and security issues.
A nationwide ban on DJI drones would significantly impact the company’s business in one of its biggest markets worldwide.
DJI commands over 50% share of the U.S. drone market across the consumer, enterprise and emergency services segments.
Industry experts warn such a ban could also hamper critical operations like search and rescue, firefighting and infrastructure inspection that rely heavily on DJI’s fleet of affordable yet advanced drones.
The U.S. government is reportedly considering putting together a white list of approved drones from other manufacturers for federal operations if the DJI ban goes through.
As of now, no final decision has been made. But any such move is likely to further stoke tensions between the U.S. and China over technology and data sovereignty issues.
