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Drone maker DJI facing U.S. FCC ban — the national security risk and part China-state ownership are key issues (www.tomshardware.com)

submitted 6 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 6 months ago (2 children)

Question is: do I buy one now and risk them bricking it out of spite… I guess as long as I don’t update the firmware? I don’t actually know how their geofence works.

This is lame. They already crammed remoteID™ down our throats :-( Although this will do way more to curtail drone activity it’s demonstrably not going to stop anyone from doing anything really bad.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 months ago (2 children)

Build your own drone. Don't bother paying the DJI markup when you can get a full frame mirrorless on a bunch of wood with brushless motors attached.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Okay but the DJI drones have just a few benefits over something like that lol

[–] [email protected] 5 points 6 months ago

Yeah, right? Gooooood luck telling, idk, my uncle to do that. He’s approaching seventy but uses drones as a hobbyist photographer and to do the occasional surveying for work. He’s not going to be able to “lol just build your own”. And afaik there’s nothing remotely competitive by us manufacturers

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 months ago

Oh I’ve built a few over the last 10 years. There’s a lot to be said for what DJI has accomplished over that time. I doubt it would cost me less that 10K to make something that has all the features they offer in a $2K package. And it would take months for a prototype.

[–] [email protected] -4 points 6 months ago (1 children)

From the FCC.

DJI drones and the surveillance technology on board these systems are collecting vast amounts of sensitive data—everything from high-resolution images of critical infrastructure to facial recognition technology and remote sensors that can measure an individual’s body temperature and heart rate,” Commissioner Carr stated. “Security researchers have also found that DJI’s software applications collect large quantities of personal information from the operator’s smartphone that could be exploited by Beijing. Indeed, one former Pentagon official stated that ‘we know that a lot of the information is sent back to China from’ DJI drones.

“DJI’s collection of vast troves of sensitive data isespecially troubling given that China’s National Intelligence Law grants the Chinese government the power to compel DJI to assist it in espionage activities. In fact, the Commerce Department placed DJI on its Entity List last year, citing DJI’s role in Communist China’s surveillance and abuse of Uyghurs in Xinjiang. Add to this information the widespread use of DJI drones by various state and local public safety and law enforcement agencies as well as news reports that the U.S. Secret Service and FBI recently bought DJI drones, and the need for quick action on the potential national security threat is clear.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 6 months ago (1 children)

What’s your point?

There’s a handful of valid notions in there, but they apply to the vast majority of apps people download.

It’s a choice. You could get the same technology from an American company for… 50-80K if you’re lucky and will to roll up your sleeves and learn some sophisticated GIS software (not included).

Or you could get the DJI for… let’s call it 6K including a nice laptop and let the evil orientials know the layout of your hazlenut orchard. Oh nooooos! Spooky scary!

The Uyghur thing is a problem for me. And I would need to understand that better before I buy something. If it’s a case of the Chinese government asking DJI to provide surveillance tech, I’m not sure that’s a request they can deny. If it’s DJI using slave/forced labor, fuckem.

[–] [email protected] -3 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (1 children)

They are mapping network infrastructure and gobbling up whatever data they can find, and sending it back to China, where for sure they are feeding into an AI that is going to try and figure out the exact networks that need to be taken out to inflict maximum damage to the US.

I'm sure Congress and the FCC are looking at other apps and devs as well and this is probably just the beginning of more and more Chinese tech being frozen out of western economies, I know the US is also approaching this from a diplomatic standpoint, looking at requirements to keep data gathered by the companies out of China. It's above my pay grade, especially the technical aspects. As I understand there already was a deal with tick tock for them not to ship the data to China, but they kept doing it anyway. This Act of Congress may be a cudgel for those diplomatic negotiations, as if to say if "keep fucking around and we will ban your shit one by one until there isn't any left."

"One as an example, two to show we can keep doing it."

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 months ago

So your contention is that because Congress our most learned body of intellectuals… fuck it, I’m not in the mood tonight.