DJI isn’t going down without a fight – the drone giant has now filed a lawsuit arguing that the ban placed on its products in the US is “substantially flawed.”
In December, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) placed DJI – as well as all other “foreign-made drones” – on a list that prevents any new products from gaining the necessary authorization to be sold in the US.
Now, the drone giant has filed a lawsuit in the US Court of Appeals Ninth Circuit, claiming that the FCC exceeded its authority, failed to follow procedures, and violated the Fifth Amendment when it added DJI products to its Covered List.
“The FCC can add products to the Covered List only when they present a national security threat, yet it has never identified any threat associated with DJI or its products,” DJI wrote in a statement. “Despite repeated efforts to engage with the government, DJI has never been given the chance to provide information to address or refute any concerns. These procedural and substantive deficiencies violate the Constitution and federal law.”
The DJI drone ban came about last December more by inaction than action – the year before, Congress had passed a law requiring the drone maker to pass a security review or face an automatic ban. No security review was ever started, despite DJI’s repeated concerns that the law failed to outline who would handle the review, nor what would happen if the review wasn’t completed in time.
DJI says that because the company was placed on the FCC ban without a security review and without identifying a national security threat, the ban violates the Fifth Amendment, which added the right to a trial, due process, and other trial-related rights to the Constitution.
“DJI takes the security of its products very seriously,” the company wrote. “The company has long advocated for independent, objective review of its products. As part of our commitment to the U.S. market and our customers across numerous industries, we will continue to engage constructively with the FCC and other stakeholders.”
While the FCC ban was expected as the deadline for passing the security review approached, the FCC didn’t just ban DJI and Autel but all “foreign-made drones.” While the FCC Covered List update now prevents any new drones made after the FCC ban from entering the US, the wording also bans DJI’s other non-drone products, including action cameras.
DJI’s placement on the FCC Covered list prevents new products from receiving the necessary authorization to be sold in the US. Previously authorized drones are still legal to sell and fly, but new DJI drones and other products that did not receive FCC authorization before the ban are not allowed to be sold in the US. Rumors hint – or perhaps hope – that DJI may have managed to get at least one more FCC registration in for a new product before the ban.
DJI filed the lawsuit against the FCC on February 20 in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, one of the federal appellate courts that sit below the Supreme Court. A court date has not yet been set.
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