Summary
Chinese drone company DJI has removed its geofencing feature that automatically restricted drone flights over sensitive areas, like airports, wildfires, and government buildings, replacing it with dismissible warnings.
The decision follows growing distrust in Chinese-made drones and U.S. regulatory changes.
DJI argues this empowers operators while aligning with global standards, but critics worry it could endanger safety, particularly for unaware pilots.
Previously, geofencing helped prevent incidents, like a DJI drone crash at the White House in 2015.
While this is a bad move on DJI’s part, maybe it will also force some changes to drone related security.
Fencing on just the user end only protects against Uncle Bob and his ignorance, not someone actually ill intentioned.
Protecting against Joebro Streamerson is still a worthwhile endeavor. Some asshat with a drone literally grounded a firefighting airplane in the recent California fires that would have otherwise saved peoples’ homes if it didn’t get a hole punched in its wing.