DJI sues the FCC for “carelessly” restricting its drones
DJI, the most popular consumer drone maker, is filing a lawsuit against the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) import ban on new foreign-made drones, effective December 23, 2025.
On Tuesday, the Shenzhen-based company filed a petition [PDF] with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit seeking to overturn the FCC’s decision to put DJI on its covered list. The covered list includes communications equipment and services that are “considered to pose an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States or the safety and security of American persons,” according to the FCC.
In its petition dated February 20, 2026, DJI stated:
The petitioners request reconsideration of the decision on the grounds that the FCC exceeded its statutory authority, failed to follow required statutory procedures, and violated the Fifth Amendment when it purported to add DJI products to the covered list. Petitioners respectfully request this Court to declare illegal, quash, enjoin and set aside the decision and grant such other relief as the Court deems appropriate.
In January, the FCC exempted a limited number of foreign-made drones, including some from Europe, until the end of this year. The FCC also granted exemptions for some critical components of foreign-made drones, including those from Japanese companies Sony and Panasonic, as well as South Korean company Samsung. The FCC has not exempted any drones or drone parts made in China.
In a Dec. 22 statement, the FCC said that “criminals, hostile foreign actors, and terrorists may use [drones] to present new and serious threats to our homeland. The FCC said at the time that it made its decision on the ban after a review by an interagency executive branch body that it said had “appropriate national security expertise” and “was convened by the White House.”
DJI reportedly repeatedly asked the US government to audit its devices before the US issued the import ban.
In a company statement shared with Bloomberg today, DJI said:
Despite repeated efforts to engage with the government, DJI was never given the opportunity to provide information to address or refute the concerns. These procedural and substantive deficiencies violate the Constitution and federal law.
In a statement to Reuters today, DJI also said the FCC’s decision “negligently restricts DJI’s operations in the United States and summarily denies American customers access to its latest technology.”
