DJI loses lawsuit over Pentagon’s ‘Chinese language army firm’ record

It has been practically a yr since DJI sued the Department of Defense over its designation as a “Chinese language army firm.” On Friday, a decide ruled against the drone maker. US District Decide Paul Friedman mentioned the DoD offered sufficient proof that DJI contributes to the Chinese language army.

“Certainly, DJI acknowledges that its expertise can and is utilized in army battle however asserts that its insurance policies prohibit such use,” Friedman wrote in his opinion. “Whether or not or not DJI’s insurance policies prohibit army use is irrelevant. That doesn’t change the truth that DJI’s expertise has each substantial theoretical and precise army utility.”

DJI challenged the designation in October 2024. It informed the courtroom it’s “neither owned nor managed by the Chinese language army.” The corporate claimed in its submitting that it suffered “ongoing monetary and reputational hurt” because of the inclusion. The designation can stop corporations from accessing grants, contracts, loans and different packages.

The drone maker has a contentious historical past with the US authorities. The Division of Commerce added it and 77 other companies to its Entity Listing in 2020, successfully blocking US companies from coping with them. A yr later, the Treasury Division included DJI on its “Chinese military-industrial complex companies” list. That designation was for its alleged involvement within the surveillance of Uyghur Muslim folks in China. Final yr, US customs began holding up DJI’s consumer drones on the border.

The corporate now faces a possible import ban within the US by the tip of this yr. The ban was initially scheduled for 2024. However a clause in the $895 billion US Defense Bill gave it a yr to show that its merchandise do not pose a nationwide safety threat. In March, DJI pleaded with 5 nationwide safety companies (DHS, DoD, FBI, NSA, and ODNI) to start evaluating its merchandise “instantly.”