The U.S. Government Just Followed Through on Its Ban of DJI Drones

147•DamnInteresting•5d ago

Comments

Kapura•1h ago

Seeing how drone warfare has become the new hot front in 21st century conflicts like Ukraine, it's hard not to speculate on the implications of this as political unrest continues to rise in the U.S.

It's no secret that the current U.S. regime views a sizeable portion of its own civilian citizens as enemy combatants. They are already shooting people in the face and not even putting up a pretense of acting shocked at the act. Historically, it is easier to win elections than revolutions; limiting access to game-changing technology puts the power advantage even more firmly in the corner of the regime.

spiderfarmer•1h ago

It's no secret that VC's are profiting massively from this administration. And all comments critical of the current regime are getting downvoted on HN. Something adds up.

noonething•1h ago

there's also something weird going on with the posts, i swear i saw the thread change in-between logins.

jasonjayr•1h ago

Reminder: when you are logged out, HN will show static cached content. Since there's no login session it doesn't have to compute parts of the page unique to the user.

When huge stories hit, and HN is overloaded, browing while logged out is the way to get through.

noonething•1h ago

oh k thank you.

shuntress•1h ago

Saying "Something adds up" without elaboration is a dog whistle for conspiracy theory weirdos.

justin66•1h ago

Merely the documentary function of small drones is a threat to the current US government - their game changing effect on the battlefield in Ukraine is (one hopes) less relevant here. Just the threat of people taking pictures of what's happening is enough for them to restrict flight over an entire large city when ICE moves in.

https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/2025/10/02/faa-drone-zone-...

ericmay•1h ago

Maybe, or maybe it’s just good policy to not import a network of drones from an adversary to democracies across the world, which includes the EU most importantly as China helps Russia with its invasion of Ukraine and is gearing up for some activity in Taiwan.

People can just record all this stuff on their iPhones that they already have. You don’t need a DJI drone to record police malfeasance. Maybe you do in China or Iran though. In Iran they are just mowing people down. In China you get disappeared. Interesting that there are no protests about those things though. I guess they just have better social media marketing.

watwut•1h ago

> as China helps Russia with its invasion of Ukraine

America is helping Russia with its invasion of Ukraine.

alex43578•1h ago

By only giving Ukraine $175,000,000,000, instead of $500B? Or $1T and American boots on the ground? When has American done enough to fight Ukraine’s war for them?

ceejayoz•51m ago

> When has American done enough to fight Ukraine’s war for them?

I'm inclined to think Ukraine is fighting our war for us.

The 1980s Cold Warriors would've been flabbergasted at how cheap taking out the Russian military at the knees would wind up being.

joe_mamba•13m ago

It was 30 years of rot, neglect, theft and corruption that did the majority of the damage to Russia's post-USSR military. The army they have today in Ukraine is only a fraction of what they were capable of in the 1980s.

alex43578•40m ago

>I'm inclined to think Ukraine is fighting our war for us.

Is there a war we needed to fight with Russia in this decade, the next decade, or the last, and if so, is Ukraine even damaging the parts that matter?

Russia nukes hold America at threat, not a bunch of conscripts and some old BMPs. America isn’t safer if Ukraine scores another 100K Russian casualties, and there’s even an argument that a destabilized, volatilized Russia would be more dangerous for America.

ericmay•34m ago

> America isn’t safer if Ukraine scores another 100K Russian casualties

Europe is safer though, so there's that at least. Russia can't invade the United States of course, but it can invade other countries in Europe, and it is actively taking action to do so.

alex43578•26m ago

Good thing NATO has consistently hit the 2% funding target, and Europe more broadly hasn’t neglected to maintain their defense spending in favor of profligate social welfare spending.

FpUser•16m ago

Some 150,000,000 people in Russia vs some 450,000,000 in EU. I think it is unrealistic and I think Russia / Putin knows it.

ericmay•7m ago

Depends. Is he actually fighting 450,000,000 in the EU? Is Portugal going to send troops to the front lines in Estonia? Will Germans accept being drafted to go fight in Ukraine? These are serious questions. Meanwhile Putin is very much able to draft Russians to fight wars, and god-forbid he takes over Ukraine he'll send Ukrainians too.

sophacles•34m ago

Most of the money "given" to Ukraine was older stockpiled weapons that were approaching EOL or at least "refresh cycle" anyway and needed to be replaced. Instead of throwing it away or selling it, they gave it to Ukraine, and most of the actual money spend went to US armaments companies.

The price tag you quote is the same as the "an $X value thrown in for free" you see in "deals" from shady companies.

ericmay•32m ago

Yea but those weapons are still highly valuable and effective. If you need help you aren't going to be super picky whether the apples and potatoes come from Whole Foods or Kroger.

> The price tag you quote is the same as the "an $X value thrown in for free" you see in "deals" from shady companies.

So I don't think this is very accurate. Unless you want to suggest that funding, equipment, and more given under the Biden Administration, never mind US actions like sanctions, are the product of "shady deals".

alex43578•16m ago

We have neither the money (see national debt) nor production capacity (see 155mm shells, missile production, howitzer barrels, etc) to give billions away for somebody else’s war.

Furthermore, the weapons had a cost when they were new, and replacing them now carries a higher cost.

Saying the price tag is fictional is like saying my dinner is free because the steak was already in my fridge.

ericmay•55m ago

No it's not. This is factually incorrect.

Even as recently as this past week the United States Navy has tracked down and seized Russian "shadow fleet" tankers which are operating despite American and European sanctions, and did so with Russian naval vessels nearby and despite strong protests and anger from Moscow. Hopefully Europe can step up its game and do so too.

But do you know who is helping Russia besides China? India. Iran, South America (Brazil, &c.), plenty of other countries. They've given no money, no aid, and are all too happy to buy illicit Russian oil.

mikkupikku•51m ago

You need to get off reddit, ASAP.

mikkupikku•51m ago

I think propping up the domestic small drone industry is clearly in America's national strategic interest. Hobbyists may not like it, but their toys have become potent weapons of war, so it's important for America that we don't count on importing all of them from China.

8note•31m ago

im in canada, but my mayor has been sharing details about emergency construction faily by including drone recorded footage of it.

its very useful reporting updates about when the water will be back at full capacity.

aeternum•1h ago

Ah yes I'm sure it has nothing to do with the drones running closed proprietary software via OTA updates, with encrypted data connections back to China, while being outfitted with 8k cameras, gps, lidar, etc.

johnmaguire•1h ago

Reading the article, it actually doesn't. Many US-made drones are also banned.

CursedSilicon•57m ago

Yes. This administration obviously cares more about

checks notes

software privacy than political disobedience

jameshart•21m ago

Much like the TikTok ban this seems like something that could be handled through actually regulating what tech companies are allowed to do, rather than just picking on specific products and saying ‘stop that, it’s making us nervous’.

Federal laws about data collection and retention, export, and algorithmic usage… as well as laws about software update channels for hardware devices, eg requiring that it be possible to replace firmware yourself… all sorts of regulations could be put in place that leave the software and hardware markets open, by making it clear where the boundaries are. If DJI or TikTok are doing something bad, prosecute and fine them and enjoin them from doing it again… but make it clear what specific behavior you have a problem with.

stickfigure•1h ago

Trump will be gone in 3 years. Maybe fewer depending on his health. It's unlikely that this change will have any meaningful effect on US democracy.

On the other hand, little drones are effectively munitions now. That means drone manufacturing capacity is effectively munitions manufacturing capacity. We're giving potential adversaries economies of scale building things that may be used to kill us.

I'm generally a pretty free market guy but the war in Ukraine has changed some things. My main complaint with this law is that it is so US focused; I'd be fine with drones built in Europe or Japan or other allied nations.

jayd16•1h ago

That logic also means they shouldn't be banned under 2nd amendment protections, no?

aardvarkr•1h ago

No, you can think of them more like unarmed artillery shells. Can you walk down the street to buy some artillery munitions?

Even if they were considered arms for the purpose of 2a this isn’t a ban on drones but a specific manufacturer. They government can definitely refuse to grant a manufacturer license to sell on this country.

toast0•51m ago

Pretty sure you can find inert artillery shells for sale if you cjeck your thrift and military surplus store.

542354234235•27m ago

After Mcviegh, shouldn’t all U-Haul’s be seen as unarmed vehicular large IEDs? A drone isn’t like an artillery shell because an artillery shell is for putting in an artillery gun. A drone is for flying. Just because something can be modified to serve as some sort of weapon, does make it basically a weapon.

mothballed•17m ago

It was quite common in the wake of McVeigh and other large vehicle attacks that they should be seen as weapons and licensing strengthened.

The fact you can drive a 26,000 lb GVWR truck without any special license is something special we have in America compared to most of say, Europe. It's actually pretty mind blowing anyone can just rent 26 ft diesel 26,000 lb truck and get in and drive it on the highway.

It is testament to the fact there are a few vestiges of freedom left in America. Not much, but a few vestiges, since such trucks were around before the regulation hysteria of the late 20th century and 21st century.

axus•1h ago

Certainly the spirit of the 2nd amendment is to guarantee a widely distributed technology that gives citizens a check on their government.

efnx•1h ago

I don’t know if we should be so sure that he will be gone in three years. There is no incentive for him to relinquish control peacefully. We’ll have to give him a plea bargain, or a pardon of sorts, to incentivise him stepping down. Without one his back will be against a wall (or iron bars in this case), and he will gladly escalate to stay in power to avoid incarceration.

Herring•39m ago

The US has been having significant (and increasing) issues with democracy for a while.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_backsliding_in_the_...

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/04/how-stop-m...

leptons•13m ago

>Trump will be gone in 3 years. Maybe fewer depending on his health.

He incited an insurrection last time he had power, in a desperate attempt to stay in power. Congress impeached him for it, but spineless Republicans refused to convict him for it. Then when he got power again, he pardoned everyone who took part in the insurrection. He's talked about having a 3rd term, so if you think he's just going to go away at the end of this term, you are mistaken.

jadedanalyst•1h ago

Agreed. They can’t control the narrative if journalists and activists can observe brutal state violence against citizens with their pocket drones.

I picked up an older DJI model in December and am super glad I did with recent events.

lazide•1h ago

Well, they can and they do. The core supporters just watch Fox where none of that ever shows up.

HarHarVeryFunny•47m ago

They'll probably consider you a domestic terrorist if you use it, then shoot you.

giantrobot•20m ago

Reverse that. You'll be shot and then retroactively declared a terrorist.

ivell•47m ago

My takeaway is that all previous U.S. administrations had pretense of morality and rules in both international and domestic politics (even when they did dubious stuff). The new administration has realized that there is no need for such pretense to stay in power. Previously Venezuelan attack would have been about "democracy" and "freedom" and "peace". Trump has made it clear that it is for oil.

Overall it is probably better for the world society in general that pretense is gone and the realpolitics is laid bare. The risks are no longer ambiguous but real and clearly stated and the world can plan mitigation accordingly.

AndrewKemendo•23m ago

> My takeaway is that all previous U.S. administrations had pretense of morality and rules in both international and domestic politics

This is a perspective that continues to boggle my mind.

Every record of the United States acting internationally has been either:

Explicitly horrific (Invasion of Grenada, Vietnam, Firebombing then nuking Tokyo, Iraq etc…)

Attempts to Subvert or ignore international law (IPCC, ICC, UN…)

Or benefits some major industrial corporation (NAFTA, WTO etc…)

Please point to any type of transcendent “morality or rules” that isn’t just straight up large scale international realpolitik and propaganda around maintaining global capitalism on behalf of American based owners.

loudmax•21m ago

No. That is excessively cynical. Even GW Bush and the neocons really thought toppling Hussein would benefit Iraqis more than just Americans. That invasion turned out to be a complete disaster that probably benefited Islamist radicals more than anybody else. But it's a mistake to think that the neocons didn't believe their own bullshit. The top leadership really believed they could turn Iraq into a liberal democracy at gunpoint.

America has always been at its best when it lives up to its ideals, and at its worst when it discards those ideals. America has often been in the wrong, but on balance, the world has been better off for having a great champion of liberal democracy.

With Trump, it's not a question of believing things that are right or wrong. For the post-truth mindset, right and wrong don't matter. Democracy doesn't matter. There is only power. The second Trump presidency is the first time in modern history that America is no longer a great nation.

reactordev•20m ago

I wouldn’t call DJI game-changing technology anymore.

We have a very healthy FPV community here in the states perfectly capable of building drones from parts just like Ukraine is doing.

WinstonSmith84•20m ago

Probably so. Having the software and hardware built in the US facilitate installation of backdoors. This comes handy to control the population just at the moment when the population feels they had an hedge over ICE, the regime, etc.

KolibriFly•15m ago

You don't need a revolution narrative to criticize this ban. It's already bad policy on its own merits: it freezes innovation, hurts hobbyists and small businesses etc

fidotron•1h ago

It's this now, but 3D printers, Meshtastic, and the ESP32 all seem likely to catch the ire of the administration if some deal is not done in the coming years.

I've been saying it for ages, but a decent easily available western equivalent to the ESP32 (meaning easy WiFi) needs to happen, and until it does there will be a giant hole in the middle of the entire maker universe, which increasingly acts as the prototyping stage for commercialized gadgetry.

brk•1h ago

I agree on the need to create an ESP32 equivalent. But the ESP32 doesn't really correlate to DJI here. DJI collects a massive amount of telemetry data and terrain data, forces the average user to upload this data, and isn't exactly forthcoming about what is collected or how it is used.

An ESP32 can, for the most part, be fully audited in what it is sending. Yes, the wireless drivers are binary blobs, but the developer has extensive control over the device, and it is easy to monitor/filter/firewall the data sent.

3D printers, as a general category, are also more similar to the ESP32 than to DJI.

RobotToaster•35m ago

Bambu was made by a bunch of former DJI executives, and copied a lot of their dubious business practices.

spiderfarmer•1h ago

Alternative headline: The US Government Banned All New Foreign Drones.

As every foreign-made drone is now on the FCC’s “Covered List.

fwipsy•1h ago

Source? Tfa says only new models of drones are banned.

spiderfarmer•1h ago

You're correct. The ban targets the supply chain and future imports/sales, not retroactive possession. New foreign drones cannot be certified for sale in the US market going forward. Existing drones you already own aren't being confiscated or made illegal to fly

kersplody•1h ago

For now. FCC could change this in a couple of months. There is talk of canceling FCC certifications for Autel/DJI.

8note•26m ago

sounds like the kind of thing that the supreme court would strike down, if the law has specifically named drones as disallowed

SkyeCA•1h ago

I wonder how long until Canada gets pressured into doing the same, just like we always do?

belval•1h ago

I haven't kept up to date but does the US have that much more leverage over Canada anymore? Last I checked we have tariffs on most exports, including crude, wood, steel and aluminium (probably missing a bunch). General goods are tariff'ed at 35% while China is tariff'ed at 47.5%.

They could get us to ban DJI for sure but I'd assume it'd be more through carrot than stick, because at this point we've been pretty consistently beaten for the last year.

simlevesque•1h ago

The threat of invading is hard to beat.

glitchc•53m ago

> General goods are tariff'ed at 35% while China is tariff'ed at 47.5%.

Incorrect. General tariffs are only on goods not already covered by CUSMA, which, other than the specific items already called out (aluminum, steel, etc.), is a very small set.

8note•28m ago

for now we are still putting the 100% tariff on cars that cant even drive on our roads, on the US' behalf

fwipsy•1h ago

I wonder how much this is because the war in Ukraine showed that drone manufacturing capacity is a strategic asset?

mothballed•1h ago

Doesn't Ukraine also import most of its drone technology?

pixl97•1h ago

Hence they are vulnerable to their suppliers....

mothballed•50m ago

The lesson learned from Ukraine is that importation of drones is a terrific asset, rather than a liability. Maybe you think that lesson would not apply to the USA, but that wouldn't be a lesson learned from Ukraine, rather the lesson learned would be the opposite.

gordonhart•42m ago

The lesson learned from Ukraine is that a robust drone supply chain is very important. For some countries it doesn't matter if this supply chain is rooted in China, for others it matters a lot.

jjk166•38m ago

The lesson from Ukraine is the importance of having access to drones. It doesn't take any remarkable mental feats to realize that if your primary source of drones is China, then that access may not be reliable in the event of conflict with China.

mothballed•31m ago

Reducing the diversity of your supply chain and instead making your self so incredibly vulnerable that all an adversary has to do is fubar your own domestic supply chain (because imports have long been banned) is way less robust than maintaining imports. If you actually wanted what you claim, you'd allow imports while taxing or subsidizing until they look roughly break even with domestic offerings.

jjk166•14m ago

> all an adversary has to do is fubar your own domestic supply chain

"All you need to do to defeat the US is completely destroy its entire industrial base"

mothballed•12m ago

Your position is completely untenable here and relies on it being easier to destroy multiple 'industrial bases' plus the US drone industry rather than your straw man of just the "entire" US industrial base.

Even going off your theory that the US drone industry is not easily sabotaged, it can't possibly be easier to sabotage the US drone industry plus all the import pathways (which you would otherwise have to re-establish). That is why you chose this dismissive fake-quote rather than address what I've said.

dylan604•1m ago

> then that access may not be reliable in the event of conflict with China.

Some might call that poor pre-planning. If you're about to go to war with your biggest supplier, you'd be well advised to stock up on supplies before firing the first shot.

blitzar•1h ago

The administration best set about seizing the means of production.

kristofferR•1h ago

So unless I'm reading this incorrectly, DJI can keep selling existing models forever in the US? The US just can't get updated versions of drones?

vatsachak•44m ago

Yep

DetectDefect•1h ago

Not surprising. Asymmetrically-powerful personal technology is a threat to the State's monopoly of force and power. Same reason for US juristictions banning hardware "hacking" devices, firearms manufacturing, 3D printing - hell, even building and maintaining a PC is becoming untenable. The writing is on the wall for what is next.

potato3732842•1h ago

This. Can't have a hand grenade. A peasant might take the whole entry team with them if they had one of those.

kahrl•1h ago

Binary explosive materials are freely available at your local general store.

So are Molotov’s.

showerst•1h ago

I'm in favor of tighter regulation on drone imports, both for national security reasons and to try to jumpstart a US drone industry.

Not allowing _any_ foreign made components, however, is insane, as is not even auditing DJI when they didn't put up a fight. They have to know they're just killing the small drone industry completely.

shuntress•1h ago

Limiting competition does not jump start anything it simply introduces complacency.

showerst•36m ago

There’s currently nobody in the us small drone market to get complacent. Is there a single company that designs and builds sub $10,000 drones in the US?

lazide•1h ago

Less drones for you, more for the military.

There is no real downsides for the current gov’t here.

showerst•38m ago

I build hobby scale drones for fun, mostly sub250g micros with no military value.

I’d pay more for domestic parts, because I think the capability is strategically valuable, and the quality of Chinese stuff is super variable.

There’s basically no industry here because the aliexpress parts are so cheap, so I support some protectionism, understanding that it will make the hobby more expensive.

I think you’re probably right, but I think going for million dollar drones from anduril while wiping the rest of the market is a miscalculation.

explorigin•1h ago

> CTO & Co-Founder, GovHawk.

Checks out. More legislation boosts your business.

showerst•43m ago

Both making and removing regulation boosts my business, as my clients care about changes. That said, I assure you that one regulation getting made out of millions has no effect on my bottom line.

The drone thing is a personal opinion. If the US ends up in a war (whether it’s one I agree with or not, likely not), I don’t want millions of drones to be remote controllable by the folks we’re fighting.

bilekas•1h ago

News next week : "Donald Trump Jr opens US Drone company with exclusive import license from China."

> DJI responded publicly that month that they had nothing to hide, and subsequently spent a year trying to convince the U.S. government to begin the audit. But no federal agency even began

There's your answer. There was never any concern over Americans data being sent to China.

Also they didn't "Follow through", they simply let the clock run out without even evaluating DJI's reponse to the claims.

conception•1h ago

Uh Next week? You’re late to the party.

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/drone-company...

bilekas•58m ago

Wow.. my comment on that was means as a little tounge in cheek. Isn't there some expression about when life imitates parody?

Netcob•1h ago

It'll have a shiny gold paint job, and the data will go to palantir instead. Or it would, if it ever reached the buyers.

appplication•1h ago

It’s hard to say on this one. There is a pretty extensive history of Chinese govt spying via consumer products [0]. Having worked formerly with the intelligence community, they tend not to tip their hand when they are aware of asymmetrical information.

It’s plausible that the determination was made that there were backdoors/spy equipment/whatever in the products, so no audit or smooth talking from corp representatives would make a difference in this case, given the supply chain remains controlled by an adversary. If you don’t trust that an audit can be executed with integrity then there’s not much point in conducting one at all.

The fact that this has been extended to all foreign drones does make that feel like more of a political statement though, or at the very least the original intent is being hijacked for political theater.

0. https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/cybersecurity-advisories/aa...

MarioMan•32m ago

The link you shared details hacker groups exploiting consumer hardware. This is very different than selling compromised, backdoored hardware.

aeternum•1h ago

It's doubtful that there is currently a backdoor or anything that would fail an audit.

The problem is the software updates. Whoever controls those keys has an entire domestic fleet a single firmware update away. Probably won't even be DJI, but some either state or non-state hacker that happens to acquire the update keys.

Havoc•1h ago

They're gonna TACO this.

It's too fast with no viable replacement path in sight.

Classic trump administration. Do something splashy, then when the media hype dies there is a giant void and no plan whatsoever

anonu•1h ago

They're not that hard to make. USA will be fine. If some of the software and hardware manufacturing expertise can be built here thats great.

IAmBroom•1h ago

They're hard to develop. That is proven by the fact that DJI is by far the industry leader, and everyone else is trailing.

We're not talking about duct-taping a Go Pro to an OTS drone.

CrimsonCape•25m ago

Just looking at the injection molded shell of my Mavic Mini makes me cringe when thinking about the startup cost. It's the plastic shell; not the motors, nor the circuitry, nor the optical parts...and to think you could build that in the USA is laughable. DJI releases 2-3 models every 2-3 years... if you could even find a company in the USA machining the steel molds at that frequency (i don't think it exists) how are you going to afford the bill?

dylan604•3m ago

We'll just let Boeing build them. They have the know-how.

Plus, if we're talking military drones vs civilian drones, they wouldn't need plastic shells. That'd just be more weight reducing distance. Then again, military industrial complex would probably try to make them stealth capable, be designed by committee from 22 nation states, be micro-USB mandated to comply with EU standards, blah blah. Yeah, you're right, we'd never be able to build them here.

dylan604•5m ago

They don't need to be that hard to develop. It's not like you need a return to base feature. Sort of like wanting to learn how to fly a plane, but not take off and land the plane. You don't need to have the full feature set of a DJI drone to make it a weapon. You also don't need to worry about the battery life of coming back, so you've essentially doubled your distance capabilities, so maybe a stronger radio. Do you need the video return signal too? I guess that would be some decent PR footage on the nightly news propaganda stations though, so might be worth the expense??? You also don't need to be burdened with the GeoFencing features of a DJI, but would be funny to see a bunch of attack drones all hover just outside a map boundary because the target has their base listed in the GeoFence library!

So while not duct-taping a GoPro (we'd use Gaff tape anyways), they could bailing wire a grenade or c4 bundle to it.

Havoc•57m ago

>They're not that hard to make.

Yeah, with parts from China...but that's banned too.

Homegrown factories and supply chains don't just pop up overnight though. So in the near term this just means zero drones and a disorderly transition.

Intentionally triggering that only really makes sense if you think a major confrontation is imminent and chaos is an acceptable price to pay to force speed.

notepad0x90•1h ago

I think the US military itself relies on big, sophisticated and expensive UAVs. Is there any US-only supply-chain to build millions of cheap drones for military applications? I don't agree with the ban, but if it forces a domestic supply chain, even for civilian use, that might be more tenable. But last I looked, I couldn't find any US vendor that makes similar quality drones, even if they manufacture overseas.

bix6•1h ago

Ok national defense sure but how about Trump Jr has to divest from drone companies first?

deadbabe•1h ago

So you can’t even build your own DIY drone?

smallerfish•1h ago

Sure you can. DJI is banned though.

superkuh•28m ago

You can because unless you rock the boat you're unlikely to be charged. But according to the FCC original statement, https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-416839A1.pdf

... the import of any foreign made drone parts is also blocked. This includes things like ESCs and flight controllers. Not just items that actually transmit radio signals like camera modules and so are traditionally regulated by the FCC re: import.

The best coverage of the FCCs over-reach attempting to regulate all parts, and then their subsequent very tiny walking of it back is Joshua Bardwell's video: https://youtu.be/Dyr87--SDuc (9m47s)

Almost all the new exceptions are for government users. The only thing relevant to human persons is the back-stepping change that as long as the components of a drone are 60% made in the USA the entire thing can be considered domestic and imported. Or US retail importers can take the risk of saying that a tx'ing camera module has alternate uses, like as a security camera, and try importing it regardless of the ban.

"FCC Updates Covered List to Exempt Certain Drones and Releases FAQs" https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-updates-covered-list-exempt...

jMyles•1h ago

A society in which ubiquitous, diversely-owned and operated, unlicensed drones watch the every move of police and criminals - even though that means they watch the every move of the rest of us as well - is a society in which I want to live.

The outcome of who can lawfully create and deploy eyes in the sky is the ultimate decider of the matter of who watches the watchers.

The stakes are significant.

aeternum•1h ago

We could start health insurance companies that monitor everyone's gait and how often they exercise vs eat fast food to adjust prices. Or credit monitoring companies that watch how often you attend the casino vs. work. Or boyfriend monitoring to check for cheaters.

Not to mention the targeted ad potential.

throw0101d•1h ago

See also perhaps from November 2024 (post-election), "Drone company's stock soars after it appoints Donald Trump Jr. to advisory board":

* https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/drone-company...

* https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/27/donald-trump...

Also, from 2025:

> In October, Popular Information reported that the Pentagon awarded a contract to Unusual Machines, an obscure drone company that President Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., joined as an advisor in November 2024, despite having no notable experience with drones or military contracting.

[…]

> Now, another small startup funded by 1789 Capital, a venture capital firm where Trump Jr. is a partner, will receive a $620 million loan from the Defense Department, the Financial Times reported. Vulcan Elements, which currently has around 30 employees, produces rare-earth magnets, which can be used in “drones, radar systems and other military applications.” The contract was awarded just three months after 1789 invested in Vulcan.

vatsachak•1h ago

Okay I'm gonna build drones on my homestead then

codezero•1h ago

That these are banned but Chinese made robot vacuums and other appliances are not points to this not being about protecting individual Americans and more about protecting national interests (drones can map out terrain in a lot more detail and are mobile outside of your bedroom, and can be trivially weaponized)

glitchc•56m ago

This ban has more to do with how much geodetic data is being transmitted to China and less to do with the actual drone technology. People flying DJI drones are mapping the US on China's behalf, and that too with great fidelity.

justin66•47m ago

Do we think anything secret is being conveyed when it comes to US terrain? It's not like there are too many secrets of that kind remaining. The Chinese can probably just buy any maps they need in any case. (perhaps a drone's potential to map or even affect the wifi landscape is more interesting as a security threat)

The potential for industrial espionage is perhaps more interesting, as drones are used for security, agriculture, and pretty much everything else you can shake a stick at.

jjk166•44m ago

Satellite synthetic aperture radar can have a resolution of like 6 inches. I can't imagine consumer grade drones are significantly improving on this, and even if they could do better I would question the utility of higher resolution data for anything military related.

inetknght•24m ago

> I can't imagine consumer grade drones are significantly improving on this

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43073808

It's not necessarily better than 6 inches. But it's pretty decent, down to 0.3m, roughly 12 inches.

> even if they could do better I would question the utility of higher resolution data for anything military related.

Oh boy. Suffice to say that it definitely is useful for many things military related.

jjk166•20m ago

> Oh boy. Suffice to say that it definitely is useful for many things military related.

Can you give a single example?

manarth•41m ago

    > "People flying DJI drones are mapping the US"

With more fidelity than, e.g. https://www.openstreetmap.org/ or https://maps.google.co.uk/ ?

simpaticoder•36m ago

I always thought the risk was more that such a drone fleet could be remotely commandeered for real-time updates on target locations. It's something that could only be done once, but wow, it would be a real advantage to the attacker.

KolibriFly•14m ago

Yet DJI drones don't automatically stream raw imagery or mapping data back to China by default

RobotToaster•44m ago

I'm sure the fact that Donald J. Trump Jr. is heavily involved in a drone and drone motor company named Unusual Machines has nothing to do with this.

moogly•31m ago

How does this interact with this[1] recent decision? Maybe I'm stupid but I don't think the article really explains the US Commerce Dept. decision outcome when the FCC ban is still in effect.

[1]: https://www.reuters.com/world/china/us-commerce-department-d...

KolibriFly•17m ago

Hard to ignore the parallel with other tech bans: vague data-risk claims, no public evidence, no transparent threat model, and zero nuance between consumer toys and critical infrastructure. If this logic were applied consistently, half of consumer electronics would be in trouble

arielweisberg•11m ago

It’s really not quite like that. https://youtu.be/Dyr87--SDuc?si=EPmTEPQfFtaWV2tt

The impact is more for bind and fly drones that are FCC approved so you don’t need a HAM license to operate them.

To me it also looks like there are also loopholes you could drive a truck through in terms of importing partially assembled drones that can be assembled by the end user as well as approving components by making their use not exclusive to UAS.

What actually happens remains to be seen because it really depends on what the enforcement actually looks like and how well work arounds work.

I think the real goal of the regulators is to ensure an onshore supply chain for government use and there won’t be a focus on civilian usage.

rpcope1•1m ago

Reading through the notice from the FCC, it sure feels like they've also banned a lot of the critical components that go into line of sight RC airplanes. It really sucks, I kind of wonder if this won't crush the hobby and cause a lot vendors like Horizon or Hobby King to go under if they can't bring in planes or parts. Maybe they think someone is going to do a terrorism with their foamie Crack Yak or Turbo Timber..

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