H.R.2864 - Countering CCP Drones Act

Congress Attempting Once Again to Put Drone Service Providers out of Business

As a Drone Service provider, I am extremely concerned about the H.R.2864 - Countering CCP Drones Act coming forward again. My business, and most of the drone service providers I know including media outlets use DJI drones. I have 6.

This bill would effectively put my company and many others out of business by banning the use of the most capable and affordable drones in existence. American drone company products are inferior in terms of capabilities and cost.

Search and rescue outfits have already taken a major hit due to the recent ban on Chinese made drones. Those of us with Federal contracts must now either reinvest in an inferior yet more expensive fleet, or walk away from these services. Smaller departments or private businesses do not have the budget to replace a fleet of drones. For law enforcement and fire, this ban puts lives in danger.

It must be noted that DJI complied with built in remote ID, and gives the operator the ability to turn off any data transmission. I have not seen definitive proof that DJI drones are transmitting data to DJI or Chinese or government agencies. In an independent audit, no data leaks were found. In fact, DJI drones have Geofencing which prohibits the drone from taking flight if near critical infrastructure or restricted airspace.

During An extensive security audit, conducted by Booz Allen Hamilton, the absence of any data transmission from DJI drones to DJI, China, or any unexpected entities was reaffirmed. Conducted under the auspices of PrecisionHawk's Unmanned Aerial Intelligence Technology Center of Excellence (UAS COE), the examination delved into three distinct DJI commercial drones. The conclusion of the audit, emphasizing the user's control over data collected via DJI drones, debunked claims of undisclosed data redirection from these devices. This audit stands as yet another independent confirmation of DJI products' security.

DJI products have also undergone review by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. cybersecurity firm Kivu Consulting, U.S. Department of Interior, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, among others, and emerged with their security intact. To date, no definitive evidence of a Data Security threat tied to DJI drones has surfaced, demonstrating their reliability in safeguarding user data.