The FCC is planning to retroactively ban disguised DJI gadgets

Last October, we told you how the FCC had given itself the power to retroactively ban gadgets that have already received its approval to be imported and sold in the United States. Now, the FCC’s getting ready to wield that power for the first time, by cracking down on the “DJI front companies” suspected of sneaking the Chinese company’s tech past its foreign drone ban. The FCC is planning to retroactively ban disguised DJI gadgets Xtra and Skyrover might soon be effectively banned from the US. Xtra and Skyrover might soon be effectively banned from the US. Two Fridays ago, the FCC had already proposed a $25,000 fine on eight of those “front companies,” including the ones behind the Skyrover drones and Xtra cameras. But now, the FCC is proposing a lot more than a slap-on-the-wrist — it’s planning to ban those same companies from continuing to import, distribute, market, and sell their existing drones and cameras. For example, we highlighted a deal on Xtra’s version of the DJI Osmo Pocket 3 just two weeks ago, a product that already got FCC approval before the drone ban ever came down, and a proudct which Amazon offers with next-day shipping. If the FCC’s retroactive ban goes into effect, that product should disappear from all major online retailers and Xtra’s own website, and the company may even need to write off however many cameras are still sitting in US warehouses like Amazon’s. The ban wouldn’t affect gadgets that have already been purchased, and it wouldn’t happen immediately. The FCC’s currently taking public comments for 30 days first. While the FCC has “tentatively” concluded that these companies are selling equipment that should be banned over national security fears, it claims it’ll listen to “specific evidence” otherwise. But that should maybe be taken with a grain of salt: the FCC largely ignored public comments about net neutrality and lied about a cyberattack. It’s also worth pointing out that the US government has never provided specific public evidence that foreign drones pose a national security threat to begin with, or why other products like cameras should be caught up in that ban. If you want to comment anyhow, you can do so with an “Express Filing” here. In the meantime, the FCC says it has “temporarily deferred the grantee codes of these companies,” a phrase that it does not define. (A former FCC official tells The Verge he’s never heard that phrase before; we’re asking the FCC if that means these companies can’t get future gadgets authorized for import and sale.) The specific companies that the FCC is targeting include Cogito Tech, Fixaxo Technology, Lyno Dynamics, Skyhigh Tech, Spatial Hover, SZ Knowact and WaveGo Tech (both of whom are behind Skyrover), and Xtra Technology, none of which responded to the FCC’s requests for information. It also includes agricultural drone brand XAG, which did reportedly reply to the FCC once, but not with the information that the FCC asked for. All save XAG were brought to the FCC’s attention by Konrad Iturbe, who figured out how to track the “FCC front companies” last year. The FCC also cites our story about Xtra. Today, the FCC is also announcing that it’s parting ways with one of the Chinese test labs that helped some of these products make it to market: SGS-CSTC Shenzhen. While SGS-CSTC did reply to the FCC to claim it’s not controlled by the Chinese government, as the China-owned CSTC only has 15 percent ownership of the lab, US law currently considers another entity to have control if it has 10 percent or more or a company — at least when it comes to authorizing radios for use in the US. On July 10th, the FCC said it might take even more actions against the eight “DJI front companies” if they didn’t reply by today, July 20th. We’ll let you know what we hear.