New China Sanctions Target Drone-maker DJI, Amongst Others

A fresh round of China sanctions is set to hit the world’s largest consumer drone company hard.

Shenzhen DJI Sciences and Technologies (better known as DJI) is a juggernaut in the hobbyist drone space, with a global market share of around 70% and its products used by Hollywood, first-responders, photographers, and Joe Smith from Peoria.  

With annual revenues of around $3 billion, and exposure in aerial photography to film-making, crop-dusting, search and rescue operations, and public-safety applications, DJI is the undisputed market leader, but they’ve come under fire recently for their alleged ties with China’s government.

In the past, federal agencies have utilized DJI drones for various tasks (including military applications), and the U.S. fears that sensitive info could end up with Beijing – especially after a 2017 law which, according to Space War, “compels Chinese companies to hand over information they compile to state security organs, including data gathered overseas.”

From then on, the Pentagon banned military use of DJI drones, with other federal agencies following suit, but if DJI really is passing along all the info it gathers – including sensitive intel picked up by hobbyists – then the Shenzhen drone maker still represents a major security risk.

FCC commissioner Brendan Carr has alleged that "DJI drones and the surveillance technology on board these systems are collecting vast amounts of sensitive data – everything from high-resolution images of critical infrastructure to facial recognition technology and remote sensors that can measure an individual's body temperature and heart rate."

Though, in this case, the actual security threat was – at least on paper – secondary. The U.S. justification for this latest round of sanctions was China's treatment of its Muslim Uyghur minority, with the U.S. accusing DJI of enabling "wide-scale human rights abuses within China" through its cooperation with the communist regime.

The new sanctions criminalize investments and contact with DJI, amongst others, and given the economic fallout from the Huawei sanctions, this one will have massive repercussions for all parties involved.