Data Security
Data Security Drones: Explore how drones are impacting data security. Get the latest updates on drone-related cybersecurity risks and protections.
200 Million TikTok Users Got Four Deadline Extensions. ~850,000 Drone Pilots Got Nothing. Here’s Why.
When TikTok faced its January 2025 ban deadline, something remarkable happened. The app briefly went dark. Users flooded RedNote in protest, with 3 million Americans downloading a Chinese app they couldn’t even read as a middle finger to Congress. The…
DJI vs. TikTok: The Chinese Drone Giant Tried a US Strategy First, Then Abandoned It for Shell Companies
TikTok just pulled off what many considered impossible. On Thursday, ByteDance agreed to spin out a U.S. TikTok entity where non-Chinese investors will own approximately 80 percent of the American app. ByteDance keeps just 19.9 percent. The deal effectively neutralizes…
House Homeland Security Chair Calls Drones a “New, Growing Frontier” of Threats to U.S. Critical Infrastructure
The same week DHS announced its permanent counter-drone office and FEMA began distributing $500 million in C-UAS grants, the House Homeland Security Committee held an oversight hearing that spelled out exactly why the federal government is treating drones as a…
ABZ Innovation Raises €7M as European Ag Drone Maker Bets on Post-DJI Ban Opportunity
The day after Drone Nerds added Hungarian-made agricultural drones to its US product lineup, the manufacturer behind them announced a €7 million funding round. The timing is not coincidental. ABZ Innovation, a Budapest-based heavy-duty agricultural drone manufacturer, closed the round…
Opinion: DJI and The American Drone Delusion: We’re Not Catching Up, We’re Falling Behind
On December 23, 2025, the FCC added DJI to its Covered List, effectively banning the import and sale of any new DJI drones in the United States. Future DJI products will never legally reach American consumers. The ban, justified by…
A Silicon Valley Founder Exposed Why U.S. Drone Manufacturing Won’t Scale Anytime Soon
I’ve been reading a lot of optimistic press releases about American drone independence lately. The Pentagon wants a million drones. Executive orders promise to unleash domestic production. Politicians declare that we’re breaking free from Chinese supply chains. Then a defense-tech…
FCC Exempts Blue UAS Drones From Foreign Ban, But the Clock Is Already Ticking
I predicted the FCC would need to walk back parts of its sweeping foreign drone ban. Sixteen days after adding all foreign-made drones to the Covered List, the Pentagon has carved out exemptions for Blue UAS platforms and domestically assembled…
Blue UAS Architects Predict 2026 Drone Attack, Highlight Pentagon’s Mass Production Gap
The two officials who built the Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit and helped create the Blue UAS framework are warning that a drone attack on US soil is coming in 2026. Their analysis exposes a fundamental tension in American drone policy:…
DJI Responds to FCC Ban: ‘Not Grounded in Evidence’
DJI has issued its first official response to the FCC’s decision to add foreign-made drones to the Covered List, calling the action “disappointing” and accusing the administration of protectionism rather than legitimate security enforcement. In a statement provided to DroneXL,…
Senators Demand DJI Drone Disclosures from Contractors at Nuclear and Border Sites
Two senators are pressing major construction contractors about DJI drone use at nuclear facilities and border security sites. The letters follow GSA Inspector General findings that contractors used DJI equipment at sensitive locations. But the real question isn’t whether the…
DJI Ban: Why Everyone Owes Drone Pilots Honest Answers
This week, DJI’s Head of Global Policy Adam Welsh sat down with YouTuber Faruk from iPhonedo for what was billed as a deep dive into the looming December 23 DJI ban. I watched the interview hoping for hard questions. What…
DJI Interview Reveals Section 1709’s ‘Trap Door’ Design Guarantees Ban
I’ve been covering DJI’s regulatory battles for years, and this might be the most revealing interview yet. DJI’s Head of Global Policy Adam Welsh sat down with YouTuber Faruk from iPhonedo to explain exactly why the December 23 deadline will…