Bill Advancing Through House To Ban DJI Drones - Recreation Included

Eagle928 · Feb 17, 2024

For those who exclusively fly Autel drones, this is important to you too because we all know they never stop. They will come after Autel drones too. I've sent a letter to Elise Stefanik to let her know this is unacceptable but everyone needs to let her and their representatives know to vote no on this insane bill. Please take action today!

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Countless Americans fly drones for fun, for work, for research and to keep people safe. However, some in Congress and in state capitols across the nation have proposed legislation that threatens the way that we use drones and would restrict the market by cutting out some of the most popular...

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pedals2paddles · Feb 17, 2024

This bill has been getting brought up in the house for years so this is hardly"new". It's just the 2024 version. This bill dies with no action every year. There is no substantial support for this anywhere in Congress and expect it to die with no action again this year. It does make for great mouse click surges for all the drone social media personalities though.

And to be clear, I'm completely Republican, despise many things about DJI, agree the government should not be using them due to the security risks, and also think banning their existence in the US for consumers is stupid and should not happen. She is a wingnut.

kenautelevo2pro · Feb 17, 2024

I dunno, this bill doesn't seem like it is the same as previous since it seeks to ban DJI drones not just for the government but also for you and I and all Americans. I realize the "effort" is not new but one of these days, this might go thru and I don't think it's a good idea to wait for it to become a law and try to reverse it; better to keep stopping it beforehand. Agreed it says DJI now but soon it will include Autel one day.

MrTurnerPhoto · Feb 19, 2024

Well, why then don't we band ALL devices that have Chinese-made electronics in them? I wished that there was an American-made drone that could compete with features and price. I have yet to find any. The Chinese most likely used stolen technology to advance their drones, America just needs to take it back. With competing American products, there would not be a need to enact a band. Congress should stop in-fighting and come together to solve problems at home by investing in itself! #there_will_be_no_need_for_a_band

Eagle928 · Feb 19, 2024

MrTurnerPhoto said:
Well, why then don't we band ALL devices that have Chinese-made electronics in them? I wished that there was an American-made drone that could compete with features and price. I have yet to find any. The Chinese most likely used stolen technology to advance their drones, America just needs to take it back. With competing American products, there would not be a need to enact a band. Congress should stop in-fighting and come together to solve problems at home by investing in itself! #there_will_be_no_need_for_a_band

I get the feeling it isn't about DJI so much as these pols hate drones, especially camera drones. DJI just happens to hold 70-75% of the market share. Maybe a bit more since Autel appears to have bowed out of the consumer segment.

Oh, and I usually don't correct folks on their spelling but the word is "ban" not 'band'. They are two very different things.

jahalnon · Feb 19, 2024

I recently prepared a proposal for an EPA site that specifically says "no foreign made drones" can be used on site. Makes no sense since most of our surveying gear is also foreign made.

kenautelevo2pro · Feb 19, 2024

jahalnon said:
I recently prepared a proposal for an EPA site that specifically says "no foreign made drones" can be used on site. Makes no sense since most of our surveying gear is also foreign made.

I don't support the ban but let's be clear so we know how to fight this fight. The idea being proposed isn't that foreign equipment is being used by Americans; the ban is targeting foreign equipment (specifically Chinese) that may have spying and data gathering capabilities. Your AC cannot spy on you so nobody cares where it is made. Your rugs don't gather intelligence data. The drone is believed to maybe do so, right or wrong. But makes no sense for the drone community to keep talking about and referencing other equipment made in China; if we do, we will eventually lose this fight because they'll say we just don't get it. The scopes and binoculars and other measuring tech from China has apparently been vetted but it appears the drone has not yet been fully vetted. I partially blame the drone community for not knocking this down earlier before it gains traction because one day, one of these bills just might pass. It's not going to get better or just go away. Obviously the US is using (in part) Chinese drones for economic leverage in some unknown battle with the CCP behind the scenes.

pedals2paddles · Feb 19, 2024

Eagle928 said:
I get the feeling it isn't about DJI so much as these pols hate drones, especially camera drones. DJI just happens to hold 70-75% of the market share. Maybe a bit more since Autel appears to have bowed out of the consumer segment.

Nope. It's definitely about the CCP and their million man army working 24/7 on industrial and government espionage against the USA, utilizing companies they control such as DJI. The US government didn't ban Huawei and ZTE because the politicians hate cell phones. These companies have direct corporate control by the CCP which can and does require the company and their products to do whatever the CCP wants them to do. Autel has less direct CCP influence, but that can change at any time.

I believe 100% that DJI's software and hardware either has, does, or will do exactly what national security pundits say it has, does, or will do. The fact that someone says it doesn't do it today because they tested it is completely irrelevant. Tomorrow it will because someone said so. It's not the product in your hand that is the threat. It is the company behind it, and the CCP behind them.

That being said, all of this justifies the US government (and associated agencies/contractors) not using DJI products. Just like the government can't use Hikvision and Dahua security cameras and number of other Chinese company's products. None of this IMO justifies wholesale banning DJI products from the consumer market. They have 70-80% market share and no alternative non-CCP company to take their place. It's too late for that. I would rather someone else that isn't a communist spy agency produce a consumer / enterprise drone that can take down DJI. But I don't see that happening. DJI will not allow it.

jahalnon · Feb 20, 2024

So what does my Chinese made drone actually send to the CCP? An Ortho mosaic of a typical warehouse construction site? I guess it is better quality than what is already available on google earth. We can't fly in restricted military airspace as it is so why shut down all use of a quality product?

Eagle928 · Feb 20, 2024

jahalnon said:
So what does my Chinese made drone actually send to the CCP? An Ortho mosaic of a typical warehouse construction site? I guess it is better quality than what is already available on google earth. We can't fly in restricted military airspace as it is so why shut down all use of a quality product?

That's the thing. As long as the RC is not connected to the Internet, nothing can be transferred from the RC or the AC.

If they are going to ban DJI or Autel products then they have to ban all the other products made in China, especially electronic things. Then there's all the pharmaceuticals made there too that Americans rely on.

pedals2paddles · Feb 21, 2024

Reiterating: I do not believe they should be banned from the consumer market.

Eagle928 said:
If they are going to ban DJI or Autel products then they have to ban all the other products made in China, especially electronic things.

No. They definitely don't have to do that. I don't think I need to explain in detail the threat level difference between a coffee maker and a high definition flying camera with GPS.

jahalnon said:
So what does my Chinese made drone actually send to the CCP?

It may or may not send everything. Whether it seems important or not. They don't care about your backyard. But when they get a million backyards and three businesses they want to infiltrate, it is worth it to them. Deleting what they don't need is free. Keeping what they do need is priceless.

Idk about you, it I would also prefer they not steal all of my work. Even if my work is seemingly unremarkable. The "I don't care if I'm being spied on" argument is ridiculous. I am completely confident your opinion would be different if it was actually happening to you.

MrTurnerPhoto · Feb 21, 2024

Eagle928 said:
I get the feeling it isn't about DJI so much as these pols hate drones, especially camera drones. DJI just happens to hold 70-75% of the market share. Maybe a bit more since Autel appears to have bowed out of the consumer segment.

Oh, and I usually don't correct folks on their spelling but the word is "ban" not 'band'. They are two very different things.

What do you mean? I know a few really good "bands", LOL! Thanks.....

Eagle928 · Feb 21, 2024

pedals2paddles said:
Reiterating: I do not believe they should be banned from the consumer market.

No. They definitely don't have to do that. I don't think I need to explain in detail the threat level difference between a coffee maker and a high definition flying camera with GPS.

It may or may not send everything. Whether it seems important or not. They don't care about your backyard. But when they get a million backyards and three businesses they want to infiltrate, it is worth it to them. Deleting what they don't need is free. Keeping what they do need is priceless.

Idk about you, it I would also prefer they not steal all of my work. Even if my work is seemingly unremarkable. The "I don't care if I'm being spied on" argument is ridiculous. I am completely confident your opinion would be different if it was actually happening to you.

I think you're being paranoid. I just don't see them uploading all the content you record when you connect to the Internet with your RC. Do you think there's a hidden SSD drive in it that only the CCP can access? If you're that paranoid, just download your content then format the SD card after every shoot. Probably should do that anyway.

What do you think would happen to any drone manufacturer if it was discovered they did something like that?

Do you think every smart phone made in China is uploading all its content to the CCP too? That would be far more useful than some drone shots they could get from satellites. Wait till Ai can take hi-res sat photos and extrapolate them into drone facsimile photos and video that most people would think were actual drone footage.

In other news Russia/Ukraine are installing their own firmware on drones so anything that was there before is gone.

I believe the CCP/DJI/Autel drone security risk is a straw man argument to serve an entirely different purpose.

After the scamdemic was revealed for what it was, a lot more folks are highly skeptical about what the government says.

pedals2paddles · Feb 21, 2024

I'm not going to repeat what I already said, which answers your points. Nor am I going to debate the merits (or lack of) to your outlandish hypothetical scenarios.

Eagle928 · Feb 23, 2024

Now here is a good example of a Chinese electronic product that can do some actual damage so it does happen. I just don't think DJI or Autel is stupid enough to try something like this.

MrTurnerPhoto · Feb 24, 2024

Eagle928 said:
Now here is a good example of a Chinese electronic product that can do some actual damage so it does happen. I just don't think DJI or Autel is stupid enough to try something like this.

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Where is the video? It shows unavailable because it is private.

Eagle928 · Feb 24, 2024

MrTurnerPhoto said:
Where is the video? It shows unavailable because it is private.

Looks like she got censored. China controls a lot of what goes on the Internet. That's sad.
In was about Chinese made mini computers having malware built into the hardware that could not be removed. This malware went after bank info and other things that could seriously compromise a person's financial well being and privacy.

I'm not anti-China but I am well aware of the CCP and the control it has worldwide and what its ideology is.

Here's anther video about it.