DJI moves some production to US and says in open letter its drones do not send data to China
- The letter comes after Senator Ed Markey said during the hearing that Americans who own Chinese-made drones are concerned about privacy and security
Chinese drone maker DJI Technologies has published an open letter in which the world’s largest maker of recreational drones denies its devices send flight data to China, following a US Senate committee discussion last week on drone security and supply chain risk.
In an open letter to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation published on Monday, the Shenzhen-based company said its drones “do not automatically send flight data to China or anywhere else,” pointing out that the data stays “solely on the drone and on the pilot’s mobile device. DJI cannot share customer data it never receives.”
The letter, signed by DJI’s regional manager for North America, Mario Rebello, comes after Senator Ed Markey said during the hearing that Americans who own Chinese-made drones are concerned about privacy and security, according to a Reuters report. DJI said it is essential that decisions affecting key components of the industry are based on fact.
The drone maker said the discussions at the hearing “included inaccurate information and speculation about drone use and technology, potentially leading to restrictions on the access of DJI’s drones, purely based on where we are headquartered.”
DJI also said on Monday it planned to move some of its manufacturing lines to the US.
