Arkansas the Latest State to Implement DJI Drone Ban

The new law follows Florida’s sweeping ban of Chinese and Russian drones.

Tuesday, May 02, 2023 at 05:28 PM ET

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DJI’s newly released Mavic 3 Pro may soon be banned by the FCC. [Credit: DJI]

Key Takeaways:

U.S. federal and state lawmakers are increasingly pushing for bans on Chinese-made DJI drones, citing national security concerns and alleged ties to the Chinese military, a claim DJI denies.
Arkansas recently passed Act 525, prohibiting public entities from using drones from "covered foreign entities" (including DJI) with a four-year phase-out, following similar federal blacklistings and an immediate ban in Florida.
These bans create significant financial and operational challenges for public safety agencies, which heavily rely on DJI drones, as state funding is not provided for replacements, raising concerns about "unfunded mandates" and potential impacts on public safety.

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A growing number of U.S. federal lawmakers are pushing for a total ban on drones made by China’s Da-Jiang Innovations, better known as DJI.

Already, the company’s drones have been blacklisted by the Department of Defense and the Department of Commerce, and House Republicans are now looking to add them to the Federal Communication Commission’s Covered List. They’ve been outright banned from use by the Florida government and law enforcement agencies. And now, another state has done the same.