From TechRadar · · 1m 20s
The FCC's drone ban has almost no friends
A proposed US drone ban treats consumer camera gear as military hardware, and nearly everyone who commented told the FCC no.
In brief
A proposed US drone ban treats consumer camera gear as military hardware, and nearly everyone who commented told the FCC no. When 98.6% of the public comments reject a rule, the burden is on the regulator to explain who it actually protects. Originally reported by TechRadar.
The FCC wants drones gone
A proposal in front of the FCC would keep Chinese-made drones, DJI's above all, off US shelves. It targets the gear hobbyists, filmmakers and roofers already own.
Calling a camera military-grade
The framing treats an off-the-shelf flying camera as defense equipment. That language does a lot of work in a proposal, because it moves the debate from product safety to national threat.
“brands ordinary consumer tech as 'military-grade'”
98.6% said no
Of the people and companies who filed comments on the proposal, 98.6% rejected it. That is not a split public. That is a near-unanimous verdict against the rule as written.
Even the rival hedges
Skydio is the US maker with the most to gain from DJI disappearing, and it still will not fully endorse the ban. When your competitor won't cheer, the policy has a problem.
“even DJI's main US-based rival Skydio won't fully endorse it”
Who actually pays
Ban the cheap, good drones and the cost lands on inspectors, small studios, search teams and weekend flyers. The replacements cost more and, for now, do less.
The headline
When 98.6% of the public comments reject a rule, the burden is on the regulator to explain who it actually protects.
