Adrees Latif/Reuters
- Police agencies across Maryland are using drones from DJI, a Chinese technology company.
- DJI was added to a US investment blacklist after officials say they sold drones to Chinese police for Uyghur surveillance.
- Officials with the manufacturer say they have never turned over data from a US product to the Chinese government.
Several law enforcement agencies across Maryland are using drones made by a Chinese company that was added to a US investment blacklist in 2020 and is banned in four states.
Maryland police are using drones from DJI, a Chinese technology company that dominates the global drone market, local station WBAL TV reported.
The US Treasury Department added DJI to a US investment blacklist in December 2021. The move came after US officials said the company sold drones to Xinjiang police for use in surveilling Uyghur residents, the Washington Post reported.
The Uyghurs have faced systematic persecution from the Chinese government. Last August, the United Nations issued a report concluding the Chinese government's abuses against Uyghurs could constitute crimes against humanity.
US officials have also raised concerns about data privacy, with four states and several US agencies banning the use of DJI drones, WBAL TV reported. Earlier this year, Arkansas became the latest state to enact the ban.
Adam Welsh — the head of global policy for DJI — told WBAL TV the company had never given US data to the Chinese government. Furthermore, officials with Maryland state police say they have not found another supplier that lives up to the quality of DJI drones.
"There are drones that are made here in the United States, but they do not come up, in our opinion, to the level that the DJI drones that we are using come to," Senior Deputy Michael Wilsinski told WBAL TV.