US FCC Allows Import of Chinese Toy Drones Under Strict Rules

The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced today that it will allow the import of new Chinese-made toy drones into the United States.

According to Reuters, the FCC had previously banned the import of all new foreign-made drones and key components in December last year, including products from Chinese companies DJI and Autel Robotics, stating they posed an unacceptable risk to US national security. However, the FCC has since permitted the import of certain new drone models.

The FCC stated that its current approval is based on the Pentagon's assessment that these 'low-end, low-risk toys' lack the inherent capabilities and functions of traditional drones in terms of 'range, endurance, sensing, payload, connectivity, and data collection and storage,' and therefore do not pose a national security threat.

The Washington government has taken a series of actions to counter Chinese technology products, and the FCC is considering further restrictive measures.

The FCC has set strict criteria for qualifying toy drones, including a weight limit of no more than 150 grams, operation only within visual line of sight and no farther than 100 meters, no connectivity or internet functionality, no cameras, sensors, or recording devices capable of surveillance or data collection, and a flight time of no more than 10 minutes.

Last month, the FCC announced that Chinese-made drones and consumer-grade routers sold in the US would be allowed to receive critical software updates at least until the end of 2028.