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Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., commented on the "Counter CCP Drones Act," saying it would restrict companies in the U.S. from using Chinese drones. Stefanik joined Rep. Mike Gallagher,R-Wis., chairman of the Select Committee on the CCP, in introducing the legislation earlier this year.
"I joined @RepGallagher in introducing the Countering CCP Drones Act to ensure this Communist China-controlled company cannot be allowed to continue to operate in the U.S.," Stefanik said in an Aug. 9 post on X, formerly Twitter.
The "Countering CCP Drone Act" would restrict the company Da-Jiang Innovations (DJI) from communication infrastructure within the U.S., according to an April news release. As a Chinese company under Chinese law, DJI is able to participate in espionage activities. DJI makes more than 50% of drones sold in the U.S., with the Chinese government investing in the company.
"The possibility that DJI drones could be equipped to send live imagery of military installations, critical infrastructure and the personal lives of American citizens to China poses too great a threat," Stefanik said in the release. "Allowing this practice to continue in the U.S. is playing with fire. This Chinese-controlled company cannot be allowed to continue to operate in the U.S."
“DJI drones pose a serious national security threat and belong nowhere near the federal government," Gallagher said in the release. "The Department of Defense has recognized this and acted accordingly, and now it’s time for Congress and the rest of federal government to follow suit. Legislation like my American Security Drone Act helps mitigate the DJI threat by preventing the federal government from procuring these drones, and the Countering CCP Drones Act builds on this effort by preventing these devices from benefitting from Federal Communications Commission subsidies and operating on FCC infrastructure. Given DJI’s ties to the CCP and their military, as well as its complicity in the CCP’s ongoing genocide, it’s long past time for Congress to take this important action.”
According to the National Interest, Congress is moving closer to preventing the use of drones made by Chinese companies. In 2017, the Army stopped using drones from DJI Technology company. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) followed suit in 2019 with a security advisory highlighting potential cybersecurity vulnerabilities associated with Chinese drones. The 2020 National Defense Authorization Act prohibited the Department of Defense from using foreign-manufactured drones, and in 2020, the Interior Department also suspended its use of Chinese drones.
According to National Interest, the “American Security Drone Act,” co-sponsored by Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., and Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., also seeks to end the government purchase of foreign-made drones from Chinese companies. Stefanik and Gallagher's bill would add the company DJI to the Federal Communications Commission’s blacklist so as to prohibit purchase entirely.
Many states have begun implementing similar legislation such as Florida, Mississippi and Arkansas, National Interest reported. DJI has reacted to the threats to ban them by creating the Drone Advocacy Alliance.
"The threats posed by DJI drones are clear and well documented, and no matter how much the CCP spends on the swamp, we will continue to work to make sure these devices get nowhere near the federal government," Gallagher said, according to National Interest.
