DJI hit by American technology supplier’s ban on Chinese-made drones over security concerns
- Cape Productions supplies drones to dozens of law enforcement and public safety agencies in the US and other countries
- Its ban illustrates how tech firms are in the crossfire of deteriorating US-China relations
A supplier of drone technology to dozens of state and local law enforcement and public safety agencies, located in the United States and a handful of other countries, will stop working with Chinese drone manufacturers, citing security concerns.
Cape Productions, a Redwood City, California-based start-up, plans to tell customers on Wednesday in the US that it will stop selling software compatible with Chinese drones to its clients, most of whom use the tools to remotely dispatch and operate the small aerial vehicles to surveil possible incidents or crime scenes.
It marks a blow to China’s DJI, the world’s top maker of drones, that has spent years trying to calm fears that its products could be used for espionage.
The ban is the latest illustration of how technology companies are in the crossfire of the deteriorating relationship between the US and China. American companies relying on global supply chains have seen their costs increase, while Chinese technology companies are increasingly viewed with suspicion in the US.
DJI’s situation has echoes of Huawei Technologies, the Chinese telecommunications equipment manufacturer that the Trump administration has targeted as a national security threat for months, using these concerns to restrict its access to the US market.