Congress members warn that DJI drones 'register facial recognition data even when the system is off, and upload information to cloud storage'

[Chip]

We live in a country where we are free to direct our rage, dislike and vitriol at our government. And we have good fun doing it, often for good cause. I’ve met many others who don’t have this freedom.

Right. I was merely observing that the vitriolic rage expressed by some is shocking to me. If you all have good fun doing it then go ahead. But consider what the Chinese military has itself said about its worldwide domination of drone production and what it means for inevitable conflict over Taiwan which manufactures 90% of the world's microchips.

 

[Andy carley]

I wonder if the Jewish space laser woman has anything to do with it?

 

[Starz]

still collects data and talks to the mothership?

And cows jump over the moon. Typical politician verbiage.

 

[Chip]

I wonder if the space laser woman has anything to do with it?

No I don't think so. All evidence points to Skydio, with a tiny lobbying budget of $500,000 (compared to DJI's $1.5 million), inducing both republicans and democrats alike to support the legislation through Starbuck's gift cards, hallucinogenic drugs, and mind control techniques perfected by the CIA in the 1950s.

 

[Cafguy]

Our government speaks as if we are all in the 1930's.
The Harsh reality is, In case of a war with China, that DJI Drone that will be vaporized in a millisecond along with yourself WON'T turn the tide of that war in China's Direction nor will it provide that government with the necessary grid coordinates to move a division thru the decimated radioactive wasteland that was once your hometown and install a CCP friendly Government and we know that. BUT there is no way our government is going to admit to over regulating every business it gets its hands into and making it almost impossible for American Business owners to compete with other countries SO get ready for more Comedy from the folks in Washington DC..

 

[Droning on and on...]

What's really getting the goat of many here is that much of this proposed policy isn't sound,

How do you know this?

isn't rooted in reality,

How do you know this?

and the supposed reason(s) for this bad policy is national security, which has been made secretive, so we can't even intelligently debate the issue(s).

Hence my, "how do you know this" challenges above.

I've been following, and participating in this discussion here across several threads for months. Little concrete information has been offered by anyone (including the US government). Yet so many of you are so sure there's nothing to it when there is clearly information none of us have.

Now, like most here, I believe most likely it amounts to nothing, is routine political gamesmanship in an election year, and nothing necessary.

However I don't know. I've been wrong before. I'm not ready to start eviscerating people for what I don't know.

 

[Droning on and on...]

I can't help but wonder if each of the people who are unhappy with H.R.2864 have written and called their Representative and both their Senators.

I have.

President too.

 

[Chip]

Our government speaks as if we are all in the 1930's.
The Harsh reality is, In case of a war with China, that DJI Drone that will be vaporized in a millisecond along with yourself WON'T turn the tide of that war in China's Direction nor will it provide that government with the necessary grid coordinates to move a division thru the decimated radioactive wasteland that was once your hometown and install a CCP friendly Government and we know that. BUT there is no way our government is going to admit to over regulating every business it gets its hands into and making it almost impossible for American Business owners to compete with other countries SO get ready for more Comedy from the folks in Washington DC..

So, let me see if I understand your thesis. China/DJI's domination of the global drone market is irrelevant because if any conflict of any kind ever breaks out we will all be incinerated by nuclear bombs within milliseconds anyway so who cares. Is that about right?

 

[franklinskite]

How do you know this?



How do you know this?



Hence my, "how do you know this" challenges above.

I've been following, and participating in this discussion here across several threads for months. Little concrete information has been offered by anyone (including the US government). Yet so many of you are so sure there's nothing to it when there is clearly information none of us have.

Now, like most here, I believe most likely it amounts to nothing, is routine political gamesmanship in an election year, and nothing necessary.

However I don't know. I've been wrong before. I'm not ready to start eviscerating people for what I don't know.

There’s no point in your arguing for the sake of argument. Obviously we don’t have the information we need to make an informed decision on whether our drones, as claimed by certain members of Congress, pose a national security risk. Even the two Congress members linked above are asking various federal agencies to release the appropriate intelligence information.

 

[madkiwi]

I use my Mini 3 Pro with the RC-N1 controller. In 6 flying sessions with my drone plugged into my phone I have a total of 1.1 MB of mobile data used (new owner).

Considering one of the photos taken by it is more than 4 MB I'm really struggling to comprehend how much data my drone is sending to the CCP. Nothing? Most of that is probably making sure I am not in a geolocked area (required by the FedGov).

The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.

HL Mencken

 

[AZDave]

Well, FWIW I'm not so ready to completely write off the Congresscritters as buffoons based on that statement.

While I don't think there is anything to this, I can't draw that conclusion from the paragraph in the OP. I don't know what they're referring to as, "the system", and apparently there's some classified Intel about this that was put together by the Intel community, not the Reps. They've been shown classified information that's causing them to believe something nefarious is going on.

Like I said, I'm highly skeptical. But there's a lot I don't know. The statements above are deliberately general and abstract, because the Intel has not been declassified. The pols apparently are trying to get it declassified to make their case.

It's rather surprising that so many here, with no clearance or access to anything that's driving this issue, are so sure about what they don't know.

Well, based upon the public record and their own statements, I know for certain that far too many of our Congressinal men and women are too ignorant and self serving to hold down any other job. You'd have to be living in a cave to refute that.

 

[franklinskite]

I use my Mini 3 Pro with the RC-N1 controller. In 6 flying sessions with my drone plugged into my phone I have a total of 1.1 MB of mobile data used (new owner).

Considering one of the photos taken by it is more than 4 MB I'm really struggling to comprehend how much data my drone is sending to the CCP. Nothing? Most of that is probably making sure I am not in a geolocked area (required by the FedGov).

The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.

HL Mencken

We're never too far off the mark here in the good 'ol US of A when someone starts quoting HL Mencken.

The quote "Whenever someone says 'It's not about the money,' it's about the money," is often attributed to Mencken, but there's no definitive source linking it directly to him. But that insight sure applies here, doesn't it?

Mencken did call the American ruling class the 'booboisie.'

"I confess to considerable pleasure in observing the incredulous, unconvinced stare of the booboisie when it confronts an intelligent human being," he wrote.

H.L. Mencken coined the term "booboisie," a portmanteau of "boobs" (a term he used to describe foolish or ignorant people) and "bourgeoisie" (the middle class). By this, Mencken was criticizing what he saw as the mediocrity, ignorance, and lack of sophistication among the American ruling, middle and lower classes. He wrote that he believed that these groups lacked intellectual curiosity and cultural refinement, often prioritizing material success and social status over genuine intellect and artistic appreciation. Mencken's use of "booboisie" was a satirical jab at what he perceived to be the anti-intellectual and conformist tendencies of American society.

The U.S. remains the only country in modern history to fully embrace the radical notion that ordinary people (at first only ordinary white men) should vote and actively participate in government, and governing. Our founders, and 19th century lawmakers like Thaddeus Stevens, tempered this impulse by insisting on the importance of a robust public education for its citizenry as vital to informed debate and decision required in a democracy. Good public education is more important than ever in this technologically complex and intertwined world.

It's also important to contrast this with today's China and the Chinese Communist Party. Chinese writer Liu Cixin (author of the Three-Body Problem) has voiced his support for the governance of the CCP, saying that ordinary Chinese are far too backward and ignorant to participate in a democracy.

Liu Cixin told the New Yorker, "If China were to transform into a democracy, it would be hell on earth,” he said. “I would evacuate tomorrow, to the United States or Europe or—I don’t know."

 

[Gatorpilot74]

I'm somewhat amused by the bias towards disbelieving Homeland Security and the reps "in the know" on these matters.

I own a Mavic 3 Classic and would hate to see it deactivated, but matters of national security are rarely handled improperly. If there's smoke here, there's most likely fire.

 

[franklinskite]

I'm somewhat amused by the bias towards disbelieving Homeland Security and the reps "in the know" on these matters.

I own a Mavic 3 Classic and would hate to see it deactivated, but matters of national security are rarely handled improperly. If there's smoke here, there's most likely fire.

These Congress members are citing supposed security alerts dating from 2017. No one, including these same Congress members, appears to have taken these ‘bulletins’ seriously for seven years. You expect average American citizens to take this seriously after one week with little or no supporting information? Particularly since on their face the claims seem preposterous?

If these are legitimate concerns, wouldn’t it be reasonable to ask why those supposedly ‘in the know’ dropped the ball for years? Why weren’t they doing their jobs? You expect they’re doing their jobs now? At what point and after how many years do you think criticism is warranted?

 

[Meta4]

The U.S. remains the only country in modern history to fully embrace the radical notion that ordinary people (at first only ordinary white men) should vote and actively participate in government, and governing.

If you really believe that, you need to get a passport and do some travelling.

 

[franklinskite]

If you really believe that, you need to get a passport and do some travelling.

No need to be insulting, friend. I’ve traveled extensively, but I’m willing to take a suggestion. Where do you suggest? I’ve been to India and Britain. Both countries are still hobbled by a class and or caste system. For many people, you are what your father was. France and Germany make it difficult to break out of your social strata. Their countries are run, as in Britain, by elites who graduate from a handful of schools.

If you do happen to get a chance travel yourself, try looking deeper at the society. In the U.S., Louisiana politician Huey Long wrote the song, “Every Man a King.” That was also Long’s populist political slogan. No other country in the world that I’m aware of has this attitude. No other country has the upward mobility of the U.S. Suggest one. That’s why immigrants are breaking down the borders to get here.

In America, any idiot can do well for himself. Many of them do, and then they run for Congress.

 

[MS Coast]

No need to be insulting, friend. I’ve traveled extensively, but I’m willing to take a suggestion. Where do you suggest? I’ve been to India and Britain. Both countries are still hobbled by a class and or caste system. For many people, you are what your father was. France and Germany make it difficult to break out of your social strata. Their countries are run, as in Britain, by elites who graduate from a handful of schools.

If you do happen to get a chance travel yourself, try looking deeper at the society. In the U.S., Louisiana politician Huey Long wrote the song, “Every Man a King.” That was also Long’s populist political slogan. No other country in the world that I’m aware of has this attitude. No other country has the upward mobility of the U.S. Suggest one. That’s why immigrants are breaking down the borders to get here.

In America, any idiot can do well for himself. Many of them do, and then they run for Congress.

Not bad for a nation run by those you call idiots. But it's not quite so simple as you suggest. There's not so much contrast between the US and the rest of the world. We're certainly better today that we have been.

When Castro Carazo and Huey P. Long wrote that song in 1935, Black people were routinely prevented from voting.

The US was founded with the idea that only White males who owned property could vote.

The US was one of the last nations to outlaw slavery.

Women weren't allowed to vote in the US until 1920.

 

[Droning on and on...]

If these are legitimate concerns, wouldn’t it be reasonable to ask why those supposedly ‘in the know’ dropped the ball for years? Why weren’t they doing their jobs? You expect they’re doing their jobs now? At what point and after how many years do you think criticism is warranted?

This presumes the Intel community wasn't raising concerns for all those years with them largely being ignored for... political reasons.

I don't know. Neither do you. Or anyone else here. That's been my point.

This has become an issue. We (drone pilots) don't like it. As a result suddenly some here seem to be so knowledgeable about it that they can dismiss the whole issue out of hand with the usual trashing of our pols.

Who have been privy to something, that serious professionals in the Intel community have raised red flags about.

I'll repeat my disclaimer: I think it likely it's overhyped "might happen" sort of stuff, and doesn't amount to anything real. But I don't know. The fact that the NSA can capture and store ALL internet communications is sobering, and reminds me that where there's a will, there's a way.

 

[Cafguy]

So, let me see if I understand your thesis. China/DJI's domination of the global drone market is irrelevant because if any conflict of any kind ever breaks out we will all be incinerated by nuclear bombs within milliseconds anyway so who cares. Is that about right?

What I am saying is the government is telling you that there is a huge security concern that really- When it comes down to it Makes NO difference whatsoever, and they are telling us this Because the Truth is Here in America We have laws that give every employee benefits workers in the rest of the world do not have. We in America are also subject to a number of Taxes, fee's, upkeep cost to comply with OSHA regs and dozens of other examples. The thing is these benefits and costs are regulated and employers must fit the bill. After years and Years of telling Angry business owners That these regs and Laws are for the Best They are not about to backtrack and Admit they went to far and now Businesses based in the U.S. find it impossible to produce products at a cost that provides even a crumb of Profit. So they bring out the BIG RED CCP Monster and tell us The CCP is coming for us all UNLESS we buy American and give up our unpatriotic and weaponizable Chinese Booty.
This is nothing new- Our government is famous for spreading it on a little thick to try and get their way. I will quote the great Joe Walsh--Sometimes I can't help the feeling that I'm living a life of illusion.
The fact is that there is no need for precise targeting data within our country like they want us to think. Before ANY data like that would be useful it would have gone far out of the conventional realm don't you think. I cant see a war with China that Doesnt eventually have them bombing our infrastructure with any other weapon than nuclear and I don't see the U.S. military shooting their way thru Billions of Chinese so Nuclear is pretty much where we stand "War wise". and I don't see a shooting war with China really Happening in the first place.

 

[Meta4]

No need to be insulting, friend.
I’ve traveled extensively, but I’m willing to take a suggestion.

I'll just suggest that you travel more and leave it at that.
There are lots of other countries that "fully embrace the radical notion that ordinary people should vote and actively participate in government, and governing."
Asserting that your country is the only one is far from true.