US Considers Potential Rules To Restrict or Bar Chinese Drones (reuters.com) 70
The U.S. Commerce Department said on Thursday it is considering new rules that would impose restrictions on Chinese drones that would restrict or ban them in the United States citing national security concerns. From a report: The department said it was seeking public comments by March 4 on potential rules to safeguard the supply chain for drones, saying threats from China and Russia "may offer our adversaries the ability to remotely access and manipulate these devices, exposing sensitive U.S. data."
China accounts for the vast majority of U.S. commercial drone sales. In September, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said the department could impose restrictions similar to those that would effectively ban Chinese vehicles from the United States and the focus will be on drones with Chinese and Russian equipment, chips and software. She told Reuters in November she hopes to finalize the rules on Chinese vehicles by Jan. 20. A decision to write new rules restricting or banning Chinese drones will be made by the administration of President-elect Donald Trump, who takes over on Jan. 20.
China accounts for the vast majority of U.S. commercial drone sales. In September, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said the department could impose restrictions similar to those that would effectively ban Chinese vehicles from the United States and the focus will be on drones with Chinese and Russian equipment, chips and software. She told Reuters in November she hopes to finalize the rules on Chinese vehicles by Jan. 20. A decision to write new rules restricting or banning Chinese drones will be made by the administration of President-elect Donald Trump, who takes over on Jan. 20.
I have two DJI drones (Score:4, Interesting)
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" When someone does something bad, everyone that didn't do anything gets a bunch of new rules and hoops to jump through."
Just like murder. When someone is murdered, everyone who didn't commit murder get a "bunch of rules" to not commit murder. You're such a victim!
"In the middle are politicians and authorities that rarely pass the opportunity for more power and control."
Not all politicians are Republicans.
But sure, it's just like guns. Guns are SO burdened with excessive regulations because "politicians
Re:I have two DJI drones (Score:4, Informative)
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Either this statement is incorrect, or it's dependent on a specific type of DJI drone.
I have a pair of DJI Mavic II Pro units that utilize a DJI Smart Controller to fly.
The smart controller does not have a SIM card thus, no cellular connection is available.
It -can- utilize Wi-Fi to either tether to your smartphone ( hotspot ) for data connectivity
or it can connect to any WAP - that you allow it to - for the same purposes.
( Firmware updates, geo-fence map updates, app updates, etc. )
Both of my Mavics will fl
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Yeah the funny thing is DJI has complied with the US regs: https://www.reddit.com/r/drone... [reddit.com]
Don't see many complaints from redditors about the US competing products not flying in no fly zones.
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Probably it would fly if it couldn't get online, but with restrictions. Mine does.
And that is entirely due to requirements of your local laws and/or American law, if you're not American.
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It uses the 5G transmitter in your COVID vaccine. American backdoors being used against you!
Re: I have two DJI drones (Score:3)
To use a phone with no data I had to use bluetooth to get online thru tethering to a connected phone.
That's exactly what I had to do. Pretty it still flew when I was offline though. It was mandatory for the initial setup.
Re:I have two DJI drones (Score:5, Informative)
Although this is being advertised as a "security" move, the reality is that it's far more about trade protection.
The US drone industry lags miles behind that of China and it's apparently that there's no way consumers will buy US-made drones unless they are the *only* option so the plan is to make that the case.
To be clear however, DJI (the main focus of this move and the world's #1 drone maker) does have some pretty ratty policies and has, in the past, been caught "repatriating" copies of users images and video to servers in China where the CCP has full access to them.
Apparently *we* (citizens) have to accept that our every move will be tracked, monitored and logged by all manner of CCTV, cellular, license-tag-readers, etc and kept by the government but we can't allow a foreign power to do the same. It's all kind of moot really, when you consider how easily China appears to have hacked telcos, key mail-servers and even the Treasury.
We have to assume that *everything* we do and *everything* we have is known to all major foreign states these days.
Google Earth has nothing on the state-operated sat-mapping systems being run by a host of other countries so why would they need drone footage?
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The US government's commitment to free trade is impressive in its wholeheartedness.
Re:I have two DJI drones (Score:4, Insightful)
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The "American" drones are ridiculously expensive, and lagging far behind in features.
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Apparently *we* (citizens) have to accept that our every move will be tracked, monitored and logged by all manner of CCTV, cellular, license-tag-readers, etc and kept by the government but we can't allow a foreign power to do the same.
This argument never made sense to me. It's like arguing that if we're going to allow parents to monitor their kids, then it's hypocritical to prevent strangers from doing the same.
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The government is not our parents and they do not have our best interest at heart. There's every reason to watch them like a hawk.
The Chinese government also do not have our best interest at heart. However, unlike the US government, there's not much they can do to us.
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Maybe you should vote for better people if they don't have your best interests at heart? After all, that's the government's ONE JOB, to look after the best interests of Americans.
If you've been voting for people who oppose the government doing that job, and the government isn't doing it, it's high time you asked why you've been voting for the people you've been voting for.
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Who provides the app and the "remote controller"? Doesn't the Phone, which is part of doing "it all", have an internet connection?
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How are they meant to get online to exfiltrate anything?
Why, the app, of course. The app has an internet connection through your phone. Perhaps not while actually in flight, but certainly after you connect your phone back to the internet.
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This is not about actual "national security" concerns. This is just "China baaad". They would probably also have claimed that it harms children if they had found some fake but credible "argument".
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If it plugs into your phone, it doesn't matter if the drone itself can get to the internet, because the phone certainly can.
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They're VHF/UHF radios. DJI has them branded as OccuSync 1.0/2.0. for long range/pro models. OccuSync is in the same 2.4 and 5.8 ghz RF range as WiFi, but they have their own protocol for scanning through the frequency range to find the lowest noise, and probably do some channel multiplexing and other stuff to send video and control commands at low latency. It's simple if you're a RF electronics engineer.. which I ain't.
If the hardware operates in the WiFi band, it's reasonable to assume it can connect to a
Re: I have two DJI drones (Score:2)
Just bought a DJI Neo which uses phone control if you don't have a controller. To drive it you need to download DJI Fly which, for Android users, requires you to SIDE LOAD an APK directly from their website. Did not know this until I had drone in hand, ready for the gift recipient to try. I used a secondary device because there's no way that app is going on my main phone.
So yeah, DJI is clearly up to something on Android. They would be on iOS too if that option existed.
RC toys (Score:1)
Re: RC toys (Score:2)
What US options exist? (Score:3)
Re:What US options exist? (Score:5, Insightful)
The fact that Chinese drones are affordable and US ones aren't is exactly the problem the government actually has.
Everything about security is pure facade to legalistically cover for the fact that we signed free trade treaties(which do generally allow for national security exceptions) we want to unilaterally renege on.
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Everything about security is pure facade to legalistically cover for the fact that we signed free trade treaties(which do generally allow for national security exceptions) we want to unilaterally renege on.
Well okay, but as far as I can see, China and the USA do not have any free-trade treaties. [trade.gov]
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Okay, that's missing the forest for the trees, we have mutual "Most favored nation" status with one another, on our side through the US-China Relations Act of 2000 [govinfo.gov], a designation whose parameters are controlled by the WTO.
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Yep. This is just another thing that is being tried to prop up a failing economy. Of course, it will do exactly the opposite as countless historical examples show. Stupid people making stupid politics.
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American politicians now: Waaah! You're too good at capitalism and we can't compete! Ban! Sanctions! Tariffs!
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It astounds me that we haven't seen killings with drones become a thing outside war zones. We have shooters and bombers, but nobody is strapping a bomb to a drone and dive-bombing their target from a safe distance with better odds of escaping undetected?
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In 2016, police turned a bomb disposal robot into a bomb delivery robot: https://www.theguardian.com/te... [theguardian.com]
We have been lucky that drone attacks have been limited to state-level entities, and that will probably continue as long as readily available drones are too small and light to carry a useful firearm and handle the recoil from firing it. I hope that lasts, but don't expect it will.
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Because it is actually not easy to do (if you are stupid enough to want to do it, that is). You need to have two braincells or more. Might even have to do advanced things like weight-vs-flying-time calculations or understand explosives! Killing people with guns only requires half a braincell or less.
BTW, that blown-up Tesla in front of the Trump building is already my picture of the year 2025. Cannot beat the symbolism!
Although, fireworks instead of real explosives? What a moron!
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It's not that astonishing. People hear "drone" and think "magic." Even better if you put "swarm" in there somewhere.
A $2000 DJI Mavic Pro can lift 900 grams of payload, but actually doing so would severely limit it's maneuverability (except in the down direction) and flight time. You could definitely lift a hand grenade with that, and probably even fly a marginally practical distance with the lighter ones, but you (1) have to get a grenade (2) figure out how to detonate it remotely and (3) figure out how to
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Yeah, but 'drone' doesn't necessarily mean 'quad copter' either. A fixed-wing UAV or even an RC car can be an option.
The explosives would be the difficult part, but if random cranks can build bombs in their basements it obviously doesn't require a PhD in chemistry.
Then again, as you say, there are other methods that are easier and more effective.
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IIRC there was a Batman movie where the Joker used a bomb on an RC car. It's got many of the same problems though, limited payload, rigging remote detonation, and it's really embarassing when your fancy bomb car gets stuck in a pothole. Nobody seems to have tried it in the 30 years since that movie came out.
A fixed wing might give you more payload, but then you have to pay more attention to the aerodynamics and weight and balance, and it's more difficult to pilot. There was a story a few years ago on here a
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And that lawsuit won't work. Because SCOTUS, while intentionally misinterpreting the 2nd amendment long ago, declared that it did not apply to weapons other than what the NRA wanted to sell at the time.
IMO the 2nd amendment doesn't say what SCOTUS claims it does, but IF it did, it would allow ANY weapons to be possessed by citizens including drones and nuclear warheads. And where does the 2nd amendment entitle citizens to own ammunition? It's all arbitrary bullshit, and no drone lawsuit using the 2nd ame
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Well, THANKFULLY....you aren't on SCOTUS and don't have sway over the rights of the US citizens with regard to the 2nd and all the other amendments in the Bill of Rights.
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I use drones for huntin purposes, just like my collection of rocket launchers and artillery pieces! They put meat on the table!
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what options do I have for a reasonably priced consumer grade flying camera?
0. I'm sure the true intent is to create a de-facto ban on consumer and hobbyist drones.
Phase 1 would be limit the drones to those from more expensive sources then add a requirement for an import license for drones as the volume goes down.
After that Phase 2 is for the FAA to make findings that drones aren't so popular anymore and amend the registration programs to increase the fees and restrictions to operate a consumer drone,
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If drones from China become banned, what options do I have for a reasonably priced consumer grade flying camera?
You'll have to do what we did back in the day: Buy the tiny nosecone cameras that Estes used to sell for their model rockets. Then mail the exposed film and payment to Estes and wait 6-10 weeks for processing and delivery.
Re: What US options exist? (Score:2)
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I imagine a lot of those parts are also from China. Having the final assembly happen in the US is not that much better from a national security perspective.
anti-china FUD on Slashdot (Score:1, Troll)
it's obvious Slashdot is being used to peddle nonsense.
I am more worried about my own country's spying on me since they are in a position to be dicks, than a foreign country that is not.
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I don't think that Slashdot is really big enough to influence public opinion anymore. At this point, there are probably several subreddits on Reddit that get more unique monthly users than Slashdot gets in a whole year.
Our fine moderators are really just recycling the same mass media talking points that the other social media organizations are pushing. And apparently "Chinese drones are evil" is one of them?
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No need to worry. Even one-time satirical organs like "Private Eye" knuckled under years ago, and today take the exact same standard anti-Russia, anti-China, anti-Iran, anti-Venezuela, anti-Syria, anti-Palestine... well, actually, anti-foreigner line as the mainstream media.
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Even one-time satirical organs like "Private Eye" knuckled under years ago
It did not. I buy it probably about once per month and you're clearly full of it.
and today take the exact same standard anti-Russia, anti-China, anti-Iran, anti-Venezuela, anti-Syria, anti-Palestine... well, actually, anti-foreigner line as the mainstream media.
They almost exclusively report on malfeasance. Mostly of the British legal institutions and press. Frankly your complaint sound like you want to take a somewhat more gently lin
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I don't think that Slashdot is really big enough to influence public opinion anymore. At this point, there are probably several subreddits on Reddit that get more unique monthly users than Slashdot gets in a whole year.
Hahahaha, yes. Sad, but true. Still, the main tech things get posted here and occasionally there is even a reasonable discussion. But that is it. No "Slashdot Effect" these days and the recently, more aggressive advertising (had to go to Brave Browser to get rid of it) is not a good sign either.
Pointless rebranding exercise (Score:2)
DJI will just make a Taiwanese subsidiary and/or a Canadian one just like all the 'banned' camera makers. They will have different cloud domains and charge 10% for the new custom logos on the boxes and shells.
Re: Pointless rebranding exercise (Score:2)
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Ok I'll run with it....
What camera makers are "banned"?
Open source? (Score:1)
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Because then people could get the same idea bout US-"made" stuff and start to throw out backdoors.
Until .. (Score:1)
Ban them until someone named Trump having financial interests and/or recieves a nice padded envelope say they're all perfectly fine. .. You're a company related to the Chinese government ? Prepare a nice envelope and send it to Trump to see all your problems just fade awaya. ..
Just like TikTok
Simple