DOJ clamps down on DJI drones

Dronelife reports The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has decreed no agency may use DOJ funds for any unmanned aircraft manufactured by a “Covered Foreign Entity,” which is an “entity that is determined or designated, within the Department of Justice, to be subject to or vulnerable to extrajudicial direction from a foreign government,” which includes drones made by DJI. The full text of the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) order can be found here.

“This Justice Department order will deprive hundreds of public safety agencies of a lifesaving tool and put our communities’ emergency workers in harm’s way, much like the Interior Department’s drone policies have made it riskier to fight wildfires,” said DJI in a statement. “There are serious consequences to these protectionist policies that achieve no security benefit, as shown by the many independent and federal agency validations confirming that DJI products are safe and secure for government operations.”