US Lawmakers Suddenly Want to Rush the Mandated DJI Assessment
The tale of the US government-mandated security audit of DJI has taken another turn. While for the last six months, DJI has begged the government to start the audit to no avail, lawmakers are now seeking to rush the audit through in 30 days.
Section 1709 of the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act “mandates that within one year of enactment, a designated national security agency must evaluate whether communications and video surveillance equipment from these manufacturers pose ‘an unacceptable risk” to US national security or the safety of American citizens and was passed at the end of 2024.
DJI has twice reached out to US government officials to start the audit, once in late March with a formal letter to the relevant agencies and again in June, stating most recently that the government needed to start soon because there were only six months left before it needed to be completed. Unfortunately, the monkey’s paw may have curled, as now lawmakers want to rush the audit to be completed in 30 days.
“Although there has been no formal indication that the mandated review process has begun, a recent push from lawmakers on July 10 urged the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to complete the review within 30 days. This call for urgency is welcomed in principle but raises serious concerns about compromising the review’s credibility,” DJI writes on its ViewPoints blog.
The drone and robotics company says that a credible audit would take longer than that, and attempting to compress the timeline into a month wouldn’t be enough to do a complete and fair job.
“A credible assessment must allow time for evidence to be reviewed, and it must include meaningful opportunities for engagement, clarification, and responsible dialogue. We urge policymakers to uphold the intent of the law by ensuring that this review is transparent, grounded in evidence, and not rushed. Reconsidering the proposed timeline is essential to enable a more thorough review – one that builds trust and constructively addresses concerns.”
DJI argues that without a credible audit, new DJI drones would be barred from entering the US, not because there was a proven risk, but because the compressed timeline or political motivation prevented the company from being objectively investigated.
“As the NDAA deadline approaches, we call on the U.S. government to complete the NDAA-mandated audit in a fair, transparent, and evidence-based manner: before lives, jobs, and entire industries across the country are put at risk,” DJI concludes.
DJI’s full explanation, as well as case studies on how it believes the drone market would be damaged by DJI’s exclusion, can be read on its ViewPoints blog.
