Last October, we told you how the FCC had given itself the power to retroactively ban gadgets that have already received its approval to be imported and sold in the United States. Now, the FCCâs getting ready to wield that power for the first time, by cracking down on the âDJI front companiesâ suspected of sneaking the Chinese companyâs tech past its foreign drone ban.
For example, we highlighted a deal on Xtraâs version of the DJI Osmo Pocket 3 just two weeks ago, a product that already got FCC approval before the drone ban ever came down, and a proudct which Amazon offers with next-day shipping. If the FCCâs retroactive ban goes into effect, that product should disappear from all major online retailers and Xtraâs own website, and the company may even need to write off however many cameras are still sitting in US warehouses like Amazonâs.
The ban wouldnât affect gadgets that have already been purchased, and it wouldnât happen immediately. The FCCâs currently taking public comments for 30 days first. While the FCC has âtentativelyâ concluded that these companies are selling equipment that should be banned over national security fears, it claims itâll listen to âspecific evidenceâ otherwise.
In the meantime, the FCC says it has âtemporarily deferred the grantee codes of these companies,â a phrase that it does not define. (A former FCC official tells The Verge heâs never heard that phrase before; weâre asking the FCC if that means these companies canât get future gadgets authorized for import and sale.)
The specific companies that the FCC is targeting include Cogito Tech, Fixaxo Technology, Lyno Dynamics, Skyhigh Tech, Spatial Hover, SZ Knowact and WaveGo Tech (both of whom are behind Skyrover), and Xtra Technology, none of which responded to the FCCâs requests for information. It also includes agricultural drone brand XAG, which did reportedly reply to the FCC once, but not with the information that the FCC asked for.
Today, the FCC is also announcing that itâs parting ways with one of the Chinese test labs that helped some of these products make it to market: SGS-CSTC Shenzhen. While SGS-CSTC did reply to the FCC to claim itâs not controlled by the Chinese government, as the China-owned CSTC only has 15 percent ownership of the lab, US law currently considers another entity to have control if it has 10 percent or more or a company â at least when it comes to authorizing radios for use in the US.
On July 10th, the FCC said it might take even more actions against the eight âDJI front companiesâ if they didnât reply by today, July 20th. Weâll let you know what we hear.
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