House to Ban All DJI, AirMap Shutting Down Their LAANC, Lawsuit Over Drone Photos

Welcome to your weekly UAS news update. This week, we have three stories for you. The first one is a concerning one: the House Bill that threatens a complete DJI ban everywhere in the country. We also have AirMap shutting down their business, and then the Drone Privacy Battle is going on and heading to the Michigan Supreme Court.

Ban DJI Bill

Your first story this week is very concerning. A bill was introduced in the U.S House of Representatives to completely ban DJI. This ban would prohibit anyone from operating a DJI drone or a transmission system in the United States. The bill is extremely concerning because DJI, as a brand, represents about half of all commercial drones in the United States, possibly even more. So, please reach out to your representative and let them know that this would absolutely devastate the UAS industry and public safety, preventing the use of any drones to save lives, which is already happening in a few states.

We have included a link to the bill in the description. I invite you to watch the Public Safety News update that we posted last Monday, where Brandon talks about this topic at more length and discusses the implications. I have no doubt that this would have an absolutely devastating effect on the UAS industry as a whole.

READ: THIS PROPOSED DJI BAN IS SERIOUS AND YOU NEED TO ACT NOW!

Airmap is shutting down LAANC app

Your second story this week is that AirMap is shutting down their LAANC app. Airmap has gone through ups and downs over the last couple of years. They were in the news for not-so-good things, lost their approval to submit LAANC, were purchased by DroneUp, who I believe turned them around, and now, they are shutting down their LAANC approval. The app in itself is not going away; we’ll talk about that in a second.

But AirMap sent out an email this week announcing that as of June 22nd, they will cease operations for the app and that all LAANC authorizations through the app have been disabled. Existing requests are still valid, but otherwise, you’ll need to find another LAANC provider.

Drone photos lawsuit

Your final story this week is an ongoing battle happening in Michigan between the owners of a salvage yard and the township. We talked about this a while back. The drone-related lawsuit arose when the township presented yet another lawsuit against the salvage yard using aerial photography, alleging zoning violations and nuisance.

The owners of the salvage yard counter-sued, stating, “Like every American, I have the right to be secure on my property without being watched by a government drone.”

Unfortunately, I think the owners of the salvage yards don’t realize that at this stage, there is no real expectation of privacy when you’re outside.

Lastly, be sure to tune in on Monday for our live Q&A that we do every two weeks. I’m going to answer any questions you have, and I’ll do that over an hour. Come and join me on YouTube on this channel. I’ll see you next week!