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A federal judge has rejected drone maker DJI\u2019s efforts to get off a Department of Defense list of Chinese military companies.<\/p>\n
U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman ruled Friday<\/a> that the DoD had provided \u201csubstantial evidence\u201d that DJI contributes \u201cto the Chinese defense industrial base.\u201d<\/p>\n Pointing to the use of modified DJI drones<\/a> in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Friedman wrote, \u201cWhether or not DJI\u2019s policies prohibit military use is irrelevant. That does not change the fact that DJI\u2019s technology has both substantial theoretical and actual military application.\u201d<\/p>\n At the same time, Judge Friedman rejected some of the DoD\u2019s other rationales for the listing.<\/p>\n Other government agencies, including the Department of Commerce and the Treasury Department, placed DJI on similar lists<\/a> before it was added to the DoD list in 2022.<\/p>\n When DJI filed the lawsuit<\/a> last year, the company said it was \u201cnot owned or controlled by the Chinese military\u201d and that \u201cthe DoD itself acknowledges that DJI makes consumer and commercial drones, not military drones.\u201d<\/p>\n The lawsuit also said the company had \u201csuffered ongoing financial and reputational harm, including lost business\u201d as a result of the listing.<\/p>\n Techcrunch event<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSan Francisco<\/span> TechCrunch has reached out to DJI for comment. The company told Reuters<\/a> that it\u2019s considering its legal options and said Judge Friedman\u2019s decision was \u201cbased on a single rationale that applies to many companies that have never been listed.\u201d
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DJI faces other legal hurdles in the United States, including a potential ban on sales<\/a> starting in December unless a national security agency determines that its drones do not \u201cpose an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n