DJI, the world’s largest drone manufacturer, which sells more than half of all commercial drones in the United States, has sued the Department of Defense for designating the company as allegedly cooperating with the Chinese military.
On Friday, the drone maker requested a U.S. District Judge in Washington to remove it from the Pentagon’s list of “Chinese military companies,” claiming that it “is neither owned nor controlled by the Chinese military.”
The drone maker said that the DOD’s classification had resulted in “lost business deals, stigmatization as a national security threat, and a ban on contracting with multiple federal government agencies.”
“U.S. and international customers have terminated existing contracts with DJI and refuse to enter into new ones,” the lawsuit said.
DJI filed the case on Friday after the Defense Department did not engage with the firm about the designation for more than 16 months, stating it “had no alternative other than to seek relief in federal court.”
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: California Oil Refinery Says It Is Closing After Newsom Signs More Regulations
“On October 18, DJI filed a lawsuit to challenge the Department of Defense’s (DoD) erroneous designation of the company as a ‘Chinese Military Company,’ DJI said in a statement to Fox News on Friday.
“After attempting to engage with the DoD for more than sixteen months, during which time the drone maker highlighted numerous deficiencies in the report that formed the basis for the DoD’s decision to list DJI.
“Despite these efforts, the DoD declined to remove DJI from the list. DJI determined it had no alternative other than to seek relief in federal court. DJI is not owned or controlled by the Chinese military, and the DoD itself acknowledges that DJI makes consumer and commercial drones, not military drones.
“DJI is a private company and should not be misclassified as a military company. The company disputes the CMC designation and maintains that it is not affiliated with any military activities.”
U.S. politicians have repeatedly expressed worry that DJI’s drones offer data transfer, surveillance, and national security issues, which the firm has denied repeatedly.
Last month, the US House decided to prohibit DJI’s latest drones from operating in the United States. The bill is currently awaiting action by the United States Senate.
Catch up with the latest news from SurgeZirc on WhatsApp by following our channel. Click here to join.
Kindly follow @surgezirc on Instagram. On X (Twitter), follow @surgezircnews.
