The Federal Communications Commission is preparing to use a power it has never before exercised: retroactively banning gadgets that already have its approval to be imported and sold in the United States. The target is a network of companies the FCC suspects are fronts for Chinese drone maker DJI.
In a proposed action reported by The Verge, the FCC plans to ban products from companies behind the Skyrover drone brand and Xtra cameras, both suspected of being DJI products in disguise, designed to circumvent a US foreign drone ban that took effect last year. The agency had already proposed US$25,000 (approximately £20,000) fines on eight companies for failing to respond to investigative inquiries. Now it is escalating to a retroactive sales and import ban for the first time.
The FCC gave itself this authority in December 2025 through an order allowing it to retroactively revoke equipment authorisations for products linked to companies on its Covered List, a registry of foreign tech firms deemed national security risks. DJI, the world’s largest consumer drone manufacturer, has been on that list since Congress directed the FCC to add all foreign drone companies. The order means the FCC can ban not just drones but any device containing a radio transmitter from a banned company, even if the product itself already passed FCC review.
The eight companies include Cogito Tech, Fixaxo Technology, Lyno Dynamics, Skyhigh Tech, Spatial Hover, SZ Knowact (the company behind Skyrover), WaveGo Tech, and Xtra Technology. All failed to answer the FCC’s letters asking whether they are marketing radio equipment linked to the Covered List.
The Verge previously documented that Xtra’s camera is an exact hardware copy of the DJI Osmo Pocket 3, too identical to be considered a clone. Skyrover sells a drone visually and technically nearly indistinguishable from the DJI Mini 4 Pro. DJI has not confirmed or denied relationships with either company and did not respond to requests for comment.
The FCC is accepting public comments for 30 days, though it has tentatively concluded the companies are in violation of national security regulations. The action marks a significant escalation in US efforts to keep DJI technology out of the domestic market, moving beyond fines and import restrictions to retroactively remove products already in the supply chain.
Sources: The FCC is planning to retroactively ban disguised DJI gadgets (The Verge, July 2026); The FCC is cracking down on DJI tech that dodged the foreign drone ban (The Verge, July 2026)