Nation-Wide DJI Ban? State-Wide DJI Ban? Law Enforcement Says No Way

Banning DJI is all the rage these days.

Here’s an overview of where things stand right now:

• DJI ban for all drone pilots. Congress is considering a federal bill called the Countering CCCP Drones Act that would make it so no one could fly DJI drones in the U.S. (You read that right: No one at all.)
• States want to ban DJI too. Several states are also pursuing their own DJI bans—but first responders are speaking up and helping curb these efforts.

Credit: DJI

DJI has already been banned from use by the federal government.

This happened at the end of last year, when the ASDA (American Security Drone Act) was included in the NDAA (National Defense Authorization Act), which passed in late December.

At the time, we predicted that the federal ban might lead to a domino effect, with states following suit in passing their own bans. And that’s exactly what we’re starting to see, with several states proposing laws prohibiting Chinese drone technology from use by state agencies.

But it doesn’t stop there. A new federal law is currently being considered that would ban DJI drones completely in the U.S.

Called the Countering CCCP Drones Act, the law explicitly calls for a ban on DJI from using U.S. communications infrastructure. If it passes, it will effectively become impossible to fly DJI drones in the U.S.

First responders have been speaking out, both about the state-level bans and about the proposed blanket ban.

In testimonials and surveys, they’re letting people know that these bans represent a major hindrance to their life-saving efforts, since there are often no viable alternatives to DJI for the work they do.

In the Game of Drone Bans, Police and Fire Departments Are the Losers

Politicians like bans on Chinese drones because they’re an easy talking point. Who doesn’t want to appear tough on security?

But this means they often rush to call for drone bans without understanding the complexity of the issue, or the impact these bans may have on those who actually use drones in their work.

In some instances, this leads politicians to say some really wacky stuff.

Elise Stefanik, U.S. Representative for the State of New York, has called DJI’s drones “TikTok but with wings.” Which, we have to hand it to her, is really catchy. But it’s also just not true.

(We should note that Stefanik is one of the sponsors of the Countering CCCP Drones Act.)

And in Connecticut, where state lawmakers are calling for a ban, Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff recently told CT Insider: “What we’ve seen in other states with these Chinese-made drones is where they have hacked in and frozen electrical systems in Texas hospitals, schools . . .”

This is also not true, though it is entertaining.

But the ignorance of politicians can cause real harm.

In Florida, a blanket ban on Chinese drones has gutted the drone fleets of police and fire departments, bringing their robust drone operations to a standstill. (The Florida law only allows state agencies to use the five original Blue UAS drones—which some say are too expensive and limited in functionality.)

Credit: Port St. Lucie Police Department

The cost to replace the grounded DJI drones in Florida is estimated at $200 million.

The Florida legislature didn’t consider this cost at all when it passed the state ban. Only after police and fire departments complained openly and often about the harm the law was doing to their work did the legislature allocate $25 million for replacements—about 13% of what’s needed.

Since the Florida ban, and the federal ban that passed last December, we’ve seen several other state bans crop up:

• Arkansas passed a drone ban law called the Arkansas Act 525 in October of 2023, prohibiting state agencies from using drones made by China and other “covered foreign entities” like Russia and Iran. The law gives government agencies four years to remove prohibited drones from service.
• Arizona was considering a bill called SB 1500, which would ban drones from China for use by state agencies. The bill passed the state senate in February of this year but now appears to be dead.
• Connecticut is considering a law called Senate Bill 3, which would ban drones made by “covered foreign entities,” including China, Russia, and Iran from use by state agencies.
• Kansas is considering a law called HB 2820, which would institute a state ban on Chinese drones.
• Missouri is also considering a similar law, which was recently debated in the state legislature.

Public Safety Agencies Are Pushing Back

Taking the cue of first responders in Florida who spoke out after that state’s ban was passed, first responders in many of the above states have been speaking out.

In Missouri, law enforcement and first responders packed the room to express their disapproval when the law was recently being discussed by the state legislature. When they were asked for a show of hands about who favored the DJI ban, only one person raised their hand.

One of those first Missouri responders was drone pilot John Yeast, who’s flown over 7,000 hours for the St. Charles County Ambulance District in Missouri for SWAT teams, Search and Rescue, and other first responder operations.

Here’s what he had to say about the proposed law:

If the state of Missouri’s legislative body were to pass this bill, nearly 90% of all public safety drone teams would be required to no longer exist or operate as they do today.

– John Yeast, Drone Pilot for St. Charles County

Credit: DJI

First responders in other states have also been speaking out.

In Kansas, Bel Aire Police Chief Darrell Atteberry gave testimony at a hearing about the state’s proposed Chinese drone ban in which he pointed out that the bill wouldn’t provide funds for drone replacements.

As it currently is written, it’s an unfunded mandate. We have a lot of departments in this state that are very small, and trying to acquire that expensive piece of equipment that is useful for the safety and welfare of our communities, it’s just expensive.

– Darrell Atteberry, Police Chief for Bel Aire, KS

And in Texas, a survey of police departments and sheriff’s offices with drone programs found that the majority own and plan to continue using DJI drones. Several respondents also noted that it would be cost-prohibitive to switch to non-Chinese drones, which are often “less capable and more costly than their DJI counterparts.”

Legislatures seem to be listening. The proposed bans in both Kansas and Missouri currently look like they won’t pass, and to our knowledge no state-wide ban has yet been proposed in the state of Texas.

But it’s unclear if Congress is listening. DJI recently stated that a complete ban of its technology in the U.S. would force 67% of small American drone businesses to close, not to mention put lives at risk.

Let’s hope we don’t have to find out if they’re right.