I am infuriated with this bill. Write to your reps. folks, and vote these knee jerk idiotic representatives out who would devastate entire industries with cheap, senseless, dog whistle legislation.
Greetings Congressman Connolly,
I am writing to express my frustration with, and grave concerns about, a bad faith piece of legislation included in the NDAA: the misnamed "Countering CCP Drones Act," introduced by Ms. Stefanik, who apparently has close ties to the head of an American drone manufacturer. I am an 18 year member of the Inspector General community, a sworn Federal law enforcement officer, drone photographer and responsible drone pilot commercially-certifed by the FAA. Hopefully, your staff has thoroughly briefed and advised you of the potential fallout resulting from this draconian, knee jerk, cheap messaging anti-Chinese bill. As you are aware, the U.S. drone industry will exceed $12 billion, and thousands of military, local, state, and Federal law enforcement officials rely almost exclusively on DJI's drone products for a vastly diverse set of needs at a competitive price that is affordable under lowest bid contracting schemes. There are currently no alternatives that rival the pricing, quality, and testing that DJI has provided over several years. Almost overnight, with the passage of this bill, users will be left with few to no options to purchase drones or parts in the U.S. Safe hobbyists, photographers, travel guides, real estate professionals and so many other occupations will face dire consequences without DJI products available. In this corner of the market, it would be akin to an outright ban on, say, Dell computer products, if Apple didn't exist. If we are to believe the bill's proponents, who, again, have ties to an American drone manufacturer that needs all the assistance it can get to compete with DJI, then DJI is supposedly using everyday drone footage, which, under FAA law, under most conditions is limited to a maximum of 400 feet and "geo-fenced" away from sensitive installations, as some kind of an intelligence gathering operation. This claim has been debunked and revealed for the conspiratorial dog whistle that it is. If the claim is true, and if DJI drones pose such a grave concern to national security that Congress would destroy an important burgeoning market (and law enforcement applications), then consider the myriad of solutions available that can restrict any potential transmission of sensitive images to the CCP. Many solutions have been raised, including requiring that DJI servers be placed within the U.S., subject to oversight and data sharing protocols. There are many such nuanced technical solutions, here. I urge you to consider that this bill, if passed, would have unanticipated shocks across the U.S. market and across several industries for many years to come. Please vote against this bill, as written, and encourage your colleagues to do the same.
Greetings Congressman Connolly,
I am writing to express my frustration with, and grave concerns about, a bad faith piece of legislation included in the NDAA: the misnamed "Countering CCP Drones Act," introduced by Ms. Stefanik, who apparently has close ties to the head of an American drone manufacturer. I am an 18 year member of the Inspector General community, a sworn Federal law enforcement officer, drone photographer and responsible drone pilot commercially-certifed by the FAA. Hopefully, your staff has thoroughly briefed and advised you of the potential fallout resulting from this draconian, knee jerk, cheap messaging anti-Chinese bill. As you are aware, the U.S. drone industry will exceed $12 billion, and thousands of military, local, state, and Federal law enforcement officials rely almost exclusively on DJI's drone products for a vastly diverse set of needs at a competitive price that is affordable under lowest bid contracting schemes. There are currently no alternatives that rival the pricing, quality, and testing that DJI has provided over several years. Almost overnight, with the passage of this bill, users will be left with few to no options to purchase drones or parts in the U.S. Safe hobbyists, photographers, travel guides, real estate professionals and so many other occupations will face dire consequences without DJI products available. In this corner of the market, it would be akin to an outright ban on, say, Dell computer products, if Apple didn't exist. If we are to believe the bill's proponents, who, again, have ties to an American drone manufacturer that needs all the assistance it can get to compete with DJI, then DJI is supposedly using everyday drone footage, which, under FAA law, under most conditions is limited to a maximum of 400 feet and "geo-fenced" away from sensitive installations, as some kind of an intelligence gathering operation. This claim has been debunked and revealed for the conspiratorial dog whistle that it is. If the claim is true, and if DJI drones pose such a grave concern to national security that Congress would destroy an important burgeoning market (and law enforcement applications), then consider the myriad of solutions available that can restrict any potential transmission of sensitive images to the CCP. Many solutions have been raised, including requiring that DJI servers be placed within the U.S., subject to oversight and data sharing protocols. There are many such nuanced technical solutions, here. I urge you to consider that this bill, if passed, would have unanticipated shocks across the U.S. market and across several industries for many years to come. Please vote against this bill, as written, and encourage your colleagues to do the same.
