There’s a reason why some people are so antsy when they see drones fly over them. It is because with an attached camera, it is possible that they might be recorded. The drone pilot might simply be passing over them, but since it is impossible to tell what is being recorded unless they given prior notice, it is easy to assume the worst.That being said it seems that China is not doing the public any favors, at least according to a report from Bloomberg which has revealed that China could be interested in data that is gathered by drones. According to the report, drone maker DJI revealed that they are in talks with Chinese officials who are apparently keen on getting their hands on data gathered by DJI’s drones.
We’re not sure what the Chinese government might want with such data, but DJI states that it is part of their privacy policy to comply with valid legal requests from a government. According to DJI spokesman Oliver Wang, “Should DJI receive a valid legal request from a government agency, we may provide user information to that agency, just as other companies do. That is the case in the U.S., China or anywhere in the world where a valid legal request is made by authorities.”
However the good news is that for now, DJI does not have a way to view any video recorded by its drones unless the drone pilot uploads it via the DJI social media app, so if you are using different apps to record the video, or if you don’t upload videos to DJI’s app, then your privacy should still be relatively intact.
In the meantime DJI does require its users to register their drones with the company, plus over in the US, drone owners are also required to register with the FAA.
Filed in . Read more about China, Dji, Drones, Legal and Privacy.