Chinese Drone Ban Pt 2
From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson. The Countering Chinese Drones Act moved through the House in May and is awaiting action in the Senate.
Arthur Erickson, CEO of U.S. drone manufacturer Hylio (HE-lee-o), says the legislation would basically ban drones from DJI, the largest drone manufacturer based in China, from having FCC authorization to operate on frequencies and channels in the U.S. …
ERICKSON … “All the drones would basically become paperweights because they need those communications to function, obviously. So, it would be a virtual ban and we’re going to have to see where it ends up, but that’s where we currently are.”
Erickson says the potential risks posed by foreign entities
collecting data through drones is real …
ERICKSON … “No normal citizen is privy to what is actually happening behind the scenes with DJI or other companies may or may not be taking from us. But just from a logical standpoint, if you think about the immense amount of data that they’re gathering, it’s almost inevitable that that could be used to hurt our country.”
Erickson says it’s unfortunate …
ERICKSON … “I think you would be a little naïve to assume that a country like China, which is in economic competition with us and perhaps even more serious competition in the future, it would be foolish to think that they wouldn’t try to use every advantage that they have.
That’s not even just the Chinese government, but pretty much any government today would utilize data like that to get an edge economically, geopolitically. So, I think that’s something we have to be really careful about.”
As of 2022, 43.4 million acres of U.S. agricultural land was owned by foreign entities and individuals.
China owns nearly 350,000 acres.
