
1:16 PM PST · December 23, 2025
On Monday, the Trump administration’s Federal Communications Commission banned each caller foreign-made drone models from organisation successful the U.S., citing “national information concerns.” Americans who already ain older overseas drone models volition inactive beryllium capable to usage those products, the authorities said.
In a information sheet published Monday, the FCC claimed that “criminals, hostile overseas actors, and terrorists” could usage drones “to contiguous caller and superior threats to our homeland.” As a result, the bureau said that it had updated its Covered List—which is simply a database of products that person been “deemed to airs an unacceptable hazard to the nationalist security” of the country—to see each “UAS and UAS captious components produced abroad.”
The FCC’s chairman, Brendan Carr, said Monday that helium approved of the policy. “I invited this Executive Branch nationalist information determination, and I americium pleased that the FCC has present added overseas drones and related components, which airs an unacceptable nationalist information risk, to the FCC’s Covered List,” Carr said. “Following President Trump’s leadership, the FCC volition enactment intimately with U.S. drone makers to unleash American drone dominance.”
The caller regularisation volition evidently interaction galore antithetic companies, but it is destined to onslaught a stroke against Chinese drone shaper DJI, which is presently considered the dominant player successful drone income globally. Indeed, DJI is considered to beryllium 1 of the most fashionable drone brands for American consumers.
When reached for remark by TechCrunch, DJI said it disapproved of the decision. “DJI is disappointed by the Federal Communications Commission’s enactment contiguous to adhd foreign‑made drones to the Covered List. While DJI was not singled out, nary accusation has been released regarding what accusation was utilized by the Executive Branch successful reaching its determination.”
The company, which said that it remained committed to the U.S. market, continued: “As the manufacture leader, DJI has advocated for an open, competitory marketplace that benefits each US consumers and commercialized users, and volition proceed to bash so. DJI products are among the safest and astir unafraid connected the market, supported by years of reviews conducted by U.S. authorities agencies and autarkic 3rd parties.”
Throughout his aggregate statesmanlike administrations, Trump has repeatedly played hardball with Chinese companies. His medication laid the groundwork for the caller drone prohibition with an enforcement order passed successful June that sought to boost the production of U.S.-made drones and frankincense foster a “strong and unafraid home drone sector,” portion besides securing “the United States drone proviso concatenation against overseas power oregon exploitation.”
Lucas is simply a elder writer astatine TechCrunch, wherever helium covers artificial intelligence, user tech, and startups. He antecedently covered AI and cybersecurity astatine Gizmodo. You tin interaction Lucas by emailing lucas.ropek@techcrunch.com.















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