The Federal Communications Commission is investigating eight companies it suspects of acting as front organizations for Chinese drone giant DJI, which has been effectively banned from selling new products in the United States since December 2025 under a national security order.
The FCC also announced plans to deauthorize a Chinese testing laboratory it says helped DJI circumvent certification requirements. The investigation targets brands including Xtra, which sells DJI-like action cameras in the US, and Skyrover, which markets consumer drones that share hardware DNA with DJI’s own lineup.
The FCC’s expanded enforcement comes after the commission granted itself retroactive ban powers, closing a loophole that allowed DJI to continue selling through subsidiaries and rebranded products. Under the original ban, which covered drones and drone components from designated foreign adversaries, the commission lacked clear authority to go after hardware that had already entered the US supply chain before the restrictions took effect. The new powers change that calculus.
DJI, the world’s largest consumer and commercial drone manufacturer, has consistently denied that its products pose a national security risk. The company has accused the US government of using security concerns as a cover for protectionist trade policy. In a statement on the original ban, DJI said the concerns were “about protectionism, not evidence.”
The FCC’s latest action signals that it intends to pursue DJI through every channel available. The eight companies under investigation span consumer electronics, camera accessories, and drone components, suggesting the commission believes DJI has built a multi-layered network of front companies to maintain its US market presence despite the ban.
The deauthorization of the Chinese testing lab, which the FCC does not name in its order, would prevent it from certifying equipment for sale in the US, a critical enforcement tool that cuts off the certification pipeline DJI relied on.
Sources: The FCC is cracking down on DJI tech that dodged the foreign drone ban (The Verge, Jul 10, 2026); FCC grants itself retroactive ban powers targeting DJI drones (The Tech Buzz)