The FCC imposed a ban on DJI on December 23, 2025, which has raised some issues, including the import of new drones after that date. No new drone manufactured by DJI is allowed to get registered with the FCC, and, as usual, if it is not approved or registered with the FCC, then obviously it is also not allowed to be sold in the United States of America.
It all started with accusations against DJI that their servers are sending people’s aerial images to countries like China, or they are hosting their data in Chinese servers, which are accessible to other government agencies. In response to this accusation, DJI has opened itself to scrutiny to examine everything it is doing, and if any flaw is found, it is ready to make the changes or accept punishment. But in the given period of time, the United States security agencies failed to do the scrutiny, and that was really a long period, approximately one year, but even in that time period, despite multiple requests by DJI, none of the US security agencies reviewed the DJI products or their servers according to the claim. The failure to scrutinise the DJI products resulted in the DJI ban. So if you look at the overall perspective of this, then it really looks a bit awkward, since if your agencies fail to do the scrutiny in a proper time, then why is DJI paying the price for that?
Details of DJI’s Appeal: Challenging the ‘Covered List’ Designation
Filed with the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Friday (US Eastern Time), DJI’s petition argues the FCC lacked substantive evidence of any national security threat from its products. The company claims the decision violates due process, the US Constitution, and federal laws. “This action restricts freedom of choice for American consumers and undermines fair competition,” DJI stated in response to the Global Times.
This isn’t DJI’s first legal battle. The company previously sued the US Department of Defense in 2024 and 2025 over its “Chinese Military Companies” listing. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian also condemned the FCC’s move, urging the US to end discriminatory practices against Chinese firms.
For DJI drone users in the US, this appeal could delay or reverse the ban, preserving access to models like the DJI Mavic series—favorites for aerial photography drones—and innovations in panoramic cameras, where DJI holds a 43% global share.
DJI said that it was “disappointed” by the decision to include it on the list. “This action not only restricts the freedom of choice for American consumers and commercial users, but also undermines the principles of an open and fair competitive market,” the company said.
If successful, DJI’s appeal could be a game-changer for the photography community.
The article “DJI Files Appeal Against FCC ‘Covered List’ Ban: Major Win Potential for Drone and Action Camera Enthusiasts” was written by thenewcamera.com team on 5:07 am, 7:47 am, Wednesday, 25 February 2026, Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). | You can also follow us on Our Official Social Media Handles FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM > get live news + Nikon Rumours 24X7
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