DJI Has Sued The U.S. Department Of Defence For Adding The Chinese Drone Maker To The Military List, Claiming That Its Categorization Is Wrong
The U.S. authorities look to be on a mission that involves placing Chinese entities on a list that views these companies as a national security risk. Popular drone maker DJI has landed on the list and is now being categorized as a Chinese military company. The manufacturer of unmanned aerial vehicles has not taken action from the government too kindly, as it has bounced back by suing the U.S. Department of Defense for wrongly placing it on the list.
A U.S. District Judge was asked by DJI to remove its name from the Pentagon list of Chinese military companies
More than half of U.S. commercial drones are sold by DJI, and it even put out a blog post saying that the company conducts zero collection of data that would be sent to the Chinese military and that operators have to opt-in to share this data with the drone maker. Unfortunately, as reported by Reuters, this did not deter the U.S. Department of Defense from placing DJI on the list, prompting a lawsuit from the latter. The company says that it has suffered severe financial harm and the designation is wrong.
As a result of being placed on the U.S. Department of Defense list, which DJI claims was an ‘unlawful and misguided decision,’ the company has ‘lost business deals, been stigmatized as a national security threat, and been banned from contracting with multiple federal government agencies.’ Both U.S. and overseas clients have terminated their contracts with DJI and are refusing to issue new ones, which has resulted in its reputation being tarnished, along with its revenue getting hammered.
DJI says that it filed the lawsuit after the U.S. Department of Defense did not engage with the company for over 16 months, saying that it had no other alternative remaining other than seeking relief in federal court. The U.S. government has been working at lightning pace to restrict various Chinese companies from being engaged in trade activities with the country, as it believes that continued ties will strengthen Beijing’s military. As tensions rise between two of the world’s biggest economies, it is putting the livelihood of companies at risk.
Back in May, LiDAR manufacturer Hesai filed a suit, challenging its place on the Pentagon’s Chinese military designation. Fortunately for the firm, the U.S. Department of Defense removed Hesai from that list, but says that it will add it again because the company poses a risk to national security.
News Source: Reuters