The FCC just gave itself the power to make a DJI drone ban stick

[Flyin&Smilin]

The FCC just gave itself the power to make a DJI drone ban stick

Retroactive bans are coming for Chinese companies.

www.theverge.com

 

[pinzmann]

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[Felix le Chat]

When you're a parent, you discover the four most satisfying words in the English language.

I
Told
You
So

I've been seeing this coming for the last 18 months.... as have most of the other "Chicken Littles" who have been systematically sneered at and belittled.

I wonder what crow tastes like?

 

[MARK (LI)]

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[anotherlab]

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The key part of the article

But it now sounds like the ban could be retroactive, with three important nuances:

• The government says it isn’t taking away your existing DJI gear.
• It’s case-by-case, product-by-product.
• Each time the government wants to retroactively ban a product, the public gets to weigh in.

“We emphasize that we are currently not requiring manufacturers to replace equipment in the hands of consumers,” reads part of a 60-page “fact sheet” that spells out how the new FCC order will work. “[T]he
continued use of such equipment that is already in the hands of users would remain authorized,” it says.

 

[msinger]

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You should be able to read it in an incognito window in Chrome or the web browser of your choice.

 

[mavic3usa]

When you're a parent, you discover the four most satisfying words in the English language.

I
Told
You
So

I've been seeing this coming for the last 18 months.... as have most of the other "Chicken Littles" who have been systematically sneered at and belittled.

I wonder what crow tastes like?

So did I. Kept saying it makes no sense to claim the Chinese drone is bad but allow literally millions of Chinese drones to continue flying for years to come. If you ban only future drones, there's no way to prevent millions more additional "older" drone models from being added to the mix meaning the Chinese drone could fly for decades to come. The idea you could "grandfather" drones and wait for them to dry up and "self-deport" back to Chinese seems ludicrous.

This is the first step to confiscation. Simply pulling the FCC cert won't do anything for old drones unless you follow up in a meaningful way. I think we can expect some sort of defacto confiscation scheme to emerge that immediately impacts all law-abiding DJI drone owners as a first step. Again, I always thought the discussion around "you can keep your existing drone" didn't sound right to me. I'm hopeful it will start out that way but the ending is inevitable. "DJI drones won't be grounded" doesn't exactly sound right either. Both may be true but I have this feeling we're in for some more surprises. I still haven't ruled out the permanent nationwide (DJI drone-only) TFR.

 

[Dave Pitman]

it makes no sense to claim the Chinese drone is bad but allow literally millions of Chinese drones to continue flying for years to come

It makes no sense to "claim" a device is a security threat without documented proof. That has been the issue the entire time.

This is the first step to confiscation.

I guess driving around with Aeroscope could be the new job for the masked secret police (ICE). I find it unlikely everyone is just going to give up their legally purchased gear willingly just because a bunch of politicians want to make bank with their ties to US drone part assemblers.

Wait, they can't use Aeroscope because it's made by DJI. Well, they can probably get something that costs 100 times more in the US somewhere that works almost half as good.

DJI and Autel are not even on the "list" yet at this point. No doubt they will be in the future unless honest adults suddenly take over congress which is highly unlikely. So, first they have to get on the list, then they can try to start retroactively recinding FCC certs. Then, they can ask everyone to hand over the gear.

Good luck with that !!

 

[GeorgiaPI]

Its about the money. TikTok started as a witch hunt for corrupting our youth and national security. No proof was ever reported confirmed and it was resolved by it being purchased.
DJI has a global economy so it will hurt us more then them if the worst happens. Their US market share is the target.

 

[Wreckhunter]

The key part of the article

The key part of the article

Firmware and software updates would not happen anymore,The public weighing in before a ban happens will not make any difference as do you think the FCC is going to listen to the what the general public has to say,I think not.They will of course listen to what the polititions have to say.The one that started this whole mess.

 

[AMann]

Firmware and software updates would not happen anymore,The public weighing in before a ban happens will not make any difference as do you think the FCC is going to listen to the what the general public has to say,I think not.They will of course listen to what the polititions have to say.The one that started this whole mess.

Yup! For that matter, people in the US might not even be able to download DJI software or update it if they decide to grab that also. So I am keeping my old iPhone 8 pro max as a dedicated controller and will not use it as a phone, do any updates, nor even use it on-line for the rest of its life so that I won’t lose access to DJI Go 4.

 

[anotherlab]

Firmware and software updates would not happen anymore,The public weighing in before a ban happens will not make any difference as do you think the FCC is going to listen to the what the general public has to say,I think not.They will of course listen to what the polititions have to say.The one that started this whole mess.

70% of DJI's market would still need updates. DJI is not going to pull the plug for everyone.

Unless DJI decides to region-lock access to updates, you'll be able to get updates for the gear that you have. DJI doesn't have any reason to burn it's currrent customers.

 

[AMann]

70% of DJI's market would still need updates. DJI is not going to pull the plug for everyone.

Unless DJI decides to region-lock access to updates, you'll be able to get updates for the gear that you have. DJI doesn't have any reason to burn it's currrent customers.

DJI is not burning customers by not selling drones and accessories to the US, someone else is forcing them to do that, the same one who by all rights can also ban DJI from providing software updates. They did that with TikTok, they certainly can do that with DJI.

 

[mavic3usa]

DJI is not burning customers by not selling drones and accessories to the US, someone else is forcing them to do that, the same one who by all rights can also ban DJI from providing software updates. They did that with TikTok, they certainly can do that with DJI.

I get the feeling the US government is going to make up a story and announce that DJI refused to cooperate which led to the ban. This will justify the decision and will ensure we spend the next year or two fighting the lie because 50% or more of the people who hear it will believe it. We'll be left "defending the indefensible." The situation with DJI is no different than the situation with Huawei basically. No one will believe conditions were rigged and US took no action and therefore the ban. It sounds much more plausible DJI was called out and basically got caught which is why they voluntarily pulled out prior to the ban. You and I know the truth, the American public does not and more importantly....won't care. Remember, integrity and truthfulness don't count for much anymore. Everything is ran on fear and dishonesty.

 

[Dave Pitman]

DJI is not burning customers by not selling drones and accessories to the US, someone else is forcing them to do that, the same one who by all rights can also ban DJI from providing software updates. They did that with TikTok, they certainly can do that with DJI.

DJI does not rely on Apple or Google, so it is unlikely that they can be forced to not provide updates to their customers. That said, my gear is working great, and probably yours as well, and does not really need anything updated !

DJI being royally screwed by a relatively small group of US politicians will likely not be all that amenable to those politicians asking them to not support their legitimate customer base.

 

[GeorgiaPI]

70% of DJI's market would still need updates. DJI is not going to pull the plug for everyone.

Its not DJI that would be pulling the plug.