Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee opened an inquiry into the use of Chinese drones by U.S. state and local law enforcement, according to letters obtained by The Epoch Times.
“Although federal law enforcement agencies have warned of potential information security concerns with DJI drones, it is not clear whether state and local law enforcement agencies are fully aware of these issues,” the letters from the GOP lawmakers state.
The committee’s Democratic chairman, Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), didn’t immediately respond to a request by The Epoch Times for comment.
The lawmakers asked the Justice Department to provide a list of law enforcement agencies that have received funds to purchase DJI drones since Jan. 1, 2017. The letter also inquires about what policies and procedures are in place for such purchases and whether any restrictions and exemptions apply. The committee members’ goal is to learn whether concerns about DJI drones have come up in the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) working group on unmanned aerial systems.
The lawmakers also inquired whether the DOJ is monitoring the DJI pandemic drone loan program. DJI, the world’s largest consumer drone manufacturer, sent 100 of its drones to police, fire, and public safety organizations in 22 states. DJI’s consumer devices send flight logs, video, and audio to its servers by default, and a person operating them must navigate a series of options to turn off the data collection.
The deputy chief of police in Elizabeth, New Jersey, told The Epoch Times that the department is still using a pair of Mavic 2 drones loaned by DJI.
“The Police Department is aware of alleged data breaches and appropriate precautions are in place,” Giacomo Sacca, the deputy chief, said in a statement.
The U.S. Army, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Interior (DOI) have taken all steps to warn against or outright ban the use of DJI’s drones. Meanwhile, a recent investigative report by Bloomberg claims that DJI worked directly with the communist regime on questionable projects.
The Army appears to have used the devices at least until August 2017, when the drones were banned “due to increased awareness of cyber vulnerabilities associated with DJI products.” At the time, DJI drones were the most widely used off-the-shelf unmanned aerial device by the Army.
The Department of Homeland Security released a similar notice in May 2019, warning that U.S. officials have “strong concerns about any technology product that takes American data into the territory of an authoritarian state that permits its intelligence services to have unfettered access to that data or otherwise abuses that access,” Reuters reported.
An official familiar with the grounding of the DOI fleet told The Epoch Times that Interior Secretary David Bernhardt grounded the fleet after receiving “classified briefings on security concerns related to our drone fleet.”
“Currently, we are working hand-in-hand with experts in the executive branch to coordinate a thorough assessment of certain DOI drones and scanning for any potential national security threats,” the official said.
“From the start of the COVID-19 crisis, DJI has helped local public safety officials keep their communities safe at a distance,” a company spokesman said in an emailed statement to The Epoch Times.
“This means equipping local police and fire departments with DJI technology so they can assist in social distancing efforts and get supplies where they are needed without exposing first responders unnecessarily. With more front-line workers testing positive for COVID-19, our focus is giving our public safety professionals every tool possible to fight the virus and protect citizens. That is our goal.
“False claims that our drones spy on people or send data to China actually risk interfering with public safety efforts to protect people and communities.”
DJI didn’t immediately respond to a request by The Epoch Times for comment on the Bloomberg report.