• Babs [she/her]@hexbear.net
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    3 days ago

    This is being sold as a security measure, but it’s really a heavily-lobbied economic measure to benefit a single American drone company. Skydio, DJI’s largest American competitor, can’t compete with cheap Chinese drones used for commercial purposes like farming and surveying, so over the last two years they have spent over a million dollars on lobbying efforts to take out their rival. https://www.opensecrets.org/federal-lobbying/clients/summary?cycle=2022&id=D000086902

    Skydio drones are expensive, and the company has deep ties with American, British, and Israeli militaries. They have also completely pulled out of the consumer market, focusing purely on commercial and military drones, so a DJI ban will be a serious blow to drone hobbyists, independent professional pilots, and smaller companies that can’t afford to pay thousands of dollars for a drone that they used to be able to get for $400-$1000.