Are Drones from China Spying on the USA? A Bunch of People Think So, and Want to Ban DJI Drones and Equipment.
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“Countering CCP Drones Act” HR2864 and what it means for regular film industry folks, how that’s going to screw over the little guy, and how to fix that.
This week, bill HR2864 “Countering CCP Drones Act” has cleared its first hurdle in a congressional committee, on its way to becoming a law.
Now, there are many smarter people than me that have written long-winded reactionary pieces about this, and most of them can be boiled down to “its not fair”. And sure, relative to experience, it might not be. Additionally, they seem pretty hung up on the fact that the Congresswoman who introduced the bill is Republican, which doesn’t really matter right now, because the bill is making its way through Congress. You can read those articles here, here, here, and here.
So, apolitically, I’m going to give a little experiential context (I’ve been an FAA Drone Pilot since 2017 back when we had to literally call the ATC to get clearance to fly), and give some future predictions for what will happen if this thing passes.
First off, here’s the bill:
Long story short, they want to add DJI to the FCC exclusion list, which basically means they aren’t preventing sales of DJI equipment, but they won’t let any DJI equipment use FCC infrastructure, aka radio signals, aka how your drone/wireless video transmitter/audio recorder sends signals back and forth.
Okay, but are the Chinese spying on us? By some means other than a “rogue” weather balloon?
Wellllll… Maybe. The Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency “America’s Cyber Defense Agency” just released a report on January 17 2024 “Cybersecurity Guidance: Chinese-Manufactures UAS”. (UAS stands for Unmanned Aircraft System… aka drones and other unmanned aircraft like model airplanes etc).
But I’ll quote some spicy bits for you here too. They basically say that Chinese-manufactured drones post a significant risk to critical infrastructure and US National security. Why, you ask?
“While any UAS could have vulnerabilities that enable data theft or facilitate network compromises, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has enacted laws that provide the government with expanded legal grounds for accessing and controlling data held by firms in China.”
And…
“Since 2015, the PRC has passed or updated comprehensive national security, cybersecurity, and data privacy laws and regulations, expanding their oversight of domestic and foreign companies operating within China. One of these laws, the PRC’s 2017 National Intelligence Law, compels Chinese companies to cooperate with state intelligence services, including providing access to data collected within China and around the world. This includes prominent Chinese-owned UAS manufacturers that the Department of Defense has identified as “Chinese military companies” operating within the United States. The 2021 Data Security Law expands the PRC’s access to and control of companies and data within China and imposes strict penalties on China-based businesses for non-compliance. The data collected by such companies is essential to the PRC’s Military-Civil Fusion strategy, which seeks to gain a strategic advantage over the United States by facilitating access to advanced technologies and expertise. The 2021 Cyber Vulnerability Reporting Law requires Chinese-based companies to disclose cyber vulnerabilities found in their systems or software to PRC authorities prior to any public disclosure or sharing overseas. This may provide PRC authorities the opportunity to exploit system flaws before cyber vulnerabilities are publicly known."
So… Maybe. Basically, the pathway is there for the Chinese government to compel Chinese companies to provide them access to any data they may acquire, and that data is easily transmitted by our phones that are connected to the internet, and with caches and connected flying, etc.
So, in full abstinence style, Congresswoman Stefanik of New York’s 21st District (basically NW of Albany), wants to prevent all DJI technology from operating on US soil, and introduced this bill formally in spring 2023.
Here’s the thing —We shouldn’t allow Chinese video transmission devices on US soil. The problem is… This bill is about 6–7 years too late.
Oh boy, I bet some people are going for their pitchforks. But we don’t allow non-Americans to own American airline companies (among other things), and we can’t control what the CCP does, and they are much more into the “do it and apologize (or blame someone else) later” game, so… Yeah, they’re probably spying. Now, whether it’s to do something nefarious in the future, or just make a super accurate Catan board, who knows. We don’t even have proof they are spying, we just have proof that they have a super easy avenue to spy, and its kind of like a “if they can they will, and they definitely can” sort of deal.
Now, I certainly won’t get into the ramifications of Chinese spying, or really anyone spying, on US soil. You can google it if you want. Just poke around a bit, read “The Fifth Risk,” etc. It’s not great, and it’s not (surprise) for their Catan board. So if you sort of enjoy your life as an American and the way we do stuff mostly (no one’s perfect), perhaps poke around and educate yourself.
6–7 Years Too Late
In 2014, I went to NAB. For those who don’t know, it’s an annual conference in Las Vegas, the National Association of Broadcasters, where a bunch of nerds show off their latest tech. Anything from VR cameras, gimbals, cameras, lenses, battery tech, tape archives, a billion types of lights and monitors, etc.
There, I saw an incredible American company — Freefly Systems. They had, on display, their Movi M10 and M5, a powerful 3-axis gimbal that could stabilize a camera. It wasn’t cheap, but boy was it cool.
The next year, DJI came out with their version of the Movi… The Ronin 1. Just a little bit cheaper, a little bit shittier, but… It did the job. The next few years saw this cycle over and over again, and introduced some other brands from China eager to get in on the copycat game for the film industry — CameTV (I had one of their gimbals unfortunately), Aputure (I had one of their first panel lights, and now they are one of the biggest providers), Hollyland, SmallRig…
And truly, DJI lead the pack. From just a shitty little Ronin 1, to the beast that is the Ronin 2 (it came out in 2017 and is still one of the best in the game), and of course… My god, the drones. I had the Phantom 4 Pro (still do), the Mavics, the Inspires, and most recently, the Inspire 3.
Freefly had the Alta 6 starting in 2015, but for every drone they came out with over the years, DJI at the very least matched them in performance, and blew them out of the water on price. Now, after many iterations, they have the Alta X, a badass drone that costs… $50K after you add the bits and bobs that you need, and doesn’t even include THE CAMERA YOU WOULD BE FLYING. And if you want it to be Blue-UAV certified (which means its approved by the government for work, aka no foreign parts) its an additional $10K. Their smaller drone, made for the Sony A7R DSLR-sized camera, is $48K including the camera.
On the DJI side, the Inspire 3, a super 35 cinematic sensor on a medium quad, will run you around $35K all in. And these drones are bought as investments, not for funsies, so when looking at ROI numbers, it matters.
So that’s on the upper end. On the lower end, no one has been able to compete. Trust me, I looked. I have a little Mavic 2 Pro, a few years old, and even the newest consumer drones don’t stand up to the quality at all — as in, I could not take them on a film shoot, even a shitty weekend film shoot. I guess if you want to fly a little with your nephew in your backyard, they’d be fine, but it would cost you quite a bit with an American drone, versus a DJI one under $500.
You can read more about all the US options here at The Drone Girl’s website.
Here’s a quote from The Drone Girl’s website:
“You can read more about this phenomenon in my guide to the best camera drones made in the U.S. But I might also just save you a click. There are no consumer drone companies in the U.S. worth talking about right now.
Sure, there were drone companies like California-based Skydio that at one point made consumer drones, including the beloved Skydio 2 drone. But even Skydio called it quits in August 2023 when it formally announced that it would shut down its consumer drone arm.
Most of these companies are further detailed in this section down below spelling out the history of American drone companies that have gone defunct.”
And I’ll tell you why. DJI makes them better, faster, and most importantly, cheaper than any American company could keep up with. And now, with a 70% market share on drones, they have so much gross income annually that they have expanded to wireless video, wireless audio, and consumer cameras.
“Even powerhouse technology company Intel attempted to compete against DJI, but could not find success in a market where DJI could flood the shelves with low-cost, good-quality drones that were relatively reliable and easy to use right out of the box,” according to a September 2019 Droneresponders white paper.”
And they are GOOD. As someone who shoots on film sets as my main job, I’m telling you. They are good.
They are so good, that everyone I know has DJI equipment in one form or another. When I say everyone, I don’t mean large studios, enormous production companies, or stages. I mean the electrician down the street with two kids and a wife who wants to expand his options, thinks he could pick up a few days work as a sound mixer or VTR and start growing his income, so he saves up for two years to buy a piece of DJI equipment, starts working weekends on small projects to get his resume up, and can start taking his kids to Disneyland once a year and his wife up to Santa Barbara because he’s taking a risk and investing in new equipment, and DJI was his best bet. That’s who I’m talking about.
And that’s why this bill is going to be a shitshow.
- Chinese drone and tech companies have undercut the American market for too long, putting American companies out of business and on their back foot for so long that they no longer have the R&D to keep up.
- Just banning DJI will only clear the way for SmallRig, Hollyland, CameTV, and other Chinese companies that are currently riding DJI’s coattails.
- If DJI drones are banned on the FCC exclusion list, that means nearly ALL of DJI products are banned that use a radio signal— the Ronins, the Osmos, the wireless video transmitters, the wireless sound recorders, and little cameras.
- Those products are currently propping up a huge part of the destabilized film industry, especially in the independent film scene. Owner-operators bring that equipment to set, they get paid a tiny amount, and they slowly recoup over a few years until they make a paltry amount back (although you usually barely recoup before the new version comes out, basically a constant state of insanity). By completely eliminating DJI products, this bill will wipe out a huge section of film worker’s kit fee income.
- The people will mutiny. I can’t overstate the vitriol of film tech nerds, and even moreso film tech nerds whose income relies on them having the latest and greatest. If you take away their ability to use that equipment nearly overnight, they will lose their minds… And possibly their jobs, houses, livelihoods, long-term career goals, and savings. You are screwing over the little guy here, and depending on how much they have invested, you could be screwing them over for quite a few years.
What to Do:
- Create a buyback or exchange system for DJI and other Chinese equipment. Give people who bought these products a chance to get an American version without wiping out their savings for a few years, especially after the worst five years the film industry has ever seen (2020–2024 — COVID, strikes, more strikes, recession and another recession).
- Create a pathway in both legislation and financial incentives to get American companies back on the bandwagon. I’m talking Freefly Systems (like, just give them money truly for the love of all things good and quality), Creative Solutions LA (Teradek/SmallHD/Wooden Camera), Parrot, Skydio, Intel, InstantEye, Terraview, and PrecisionHawk. The only way this works is if these companies can innovate, clear legislation, and scale quickly.
- Give a phase out sunset date. Allow owner operators to continue using their equipment for a set amount of time. What that amount of time is is debatable, but we get a new professional drone and camera about every seven years, so perhaps five years? Whatever it is, the government needs to ensure that the American companies have a suitable replacement at a reasonable price point by the sunset date.
If you don’t give the people an equivalent option, at a reasonable price, you’re basically leaving them up shit creek without a paddle.
Now here’s some pictures of the gear that we’re talking about.
About SP: Doesn’t really matter, I’m a film industry worker, I’ve been flying drones since 2017 when I got my FAA Part 107 license.
