WASHINGTON, D.C. — Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI) of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party and Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY) released a statement following news that the Department of Commerce has placed Chinese drone maker Autel on its blacklist. This decision prohibits American companies from conducting business with Autel. The Department's action follows bipartisan demands last year for the Biden administration to investigate Autel. In November 2023, Moolenaar and Stefanik revealed Autel’s connections to the Chinese military.
"Following our advocacy, the Commerce Department added malign Chinese controlled drone maker, Autel, to its government blacklist. No American should support companies like DJI and Autel that are arming Communist China and have the ability to spy on American soil," said Moolenaar and Stefanik in their joint statement. "While this is a strong first step, the Senate must now take up and pass the House-passed Countering CCP Drones Act and ban the introduction of new CCP-linked drones from American skies."
In April 2023, Congresswoman Stefanik introduced the Countering CCP Drones Act with former Select Committee Chairman Mike Gallagher (R-WI). The legislation aims to add Chinese drone company Da-Jiang Innovations (DJI) to the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Covered List, thereby prohibiting DJI technologies from operating on U.S. communications infrastructure.
The FCC has implemented changes to ban equipment authorizations for companies on a Covered List of communications equipment and services that pose an unacceptable risk to national security. Over 50% of drones sold in the U.S. are made by DJI, which is also popular among public safety agencies. Reports indicate that the Chinese government is an investor in DJI, contradicting DJI’s public statements about their relationship with Beijing.
Currently, entities such as Huawei, ZTE, Hytera, Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co., Ltd., and Dahua Technology Co., Ltd. are included on the FCC’s Covered List. Adding DJI would align with actions taken across various U.S. Government departments:
- In August 2017, an Intelligence Bulletin from a Department of Homeland Security Field Office stated that DJI is likely providing sensitive U.S. data to the Chinese Government.
- The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 banned the Department of Defense from purchasing or using drones manufactured in China.
- In December 2020, the Department of Commerce added DJI to its “Entity List” for supporting China’s human rights abuses.
- In July 2021, mitigating threats posed by DJI was identified as a priority by the Department of Defense.
- In December 2021, DJI was identified by the Department of Treasury as part of China's Military-Industrial Complex due to their role in biometric surveillance and tracking ethnic and religious minorities in China.
Read full text of the bill here.
