The US Federal Communications Commission is preparing to use, for the first time, a power it granted itself last October to retroactively revoke import and sales approval for gadgets already cleared for the American market. The move targets so-called "DJI front companies" accused of disguising the Chinese dronemaker's technology, including the firms behind Skyrover drones and Xtra cameras, in order to circumvent an existing foreign drone ban. If enacted, this would matter beyond drones themselves, as it would set a precedent for regulators pulling previously approved consumer electronics from shelves over national security concerns without new evidence of harm.

Having already proposed $25,000 (£19,600) fines on eight such companies a fortnight ago, the FCC is now going further by seeking to ban these firms from importing, distributing, marketing or selling their existing products, such as Xtra's near-identical version of the DJI Osmo Pocket 3. The regulator is accepting public comment for 30 days before any decision, and says existing purchases would not be affected, though it has already "temporarily deferred" the companies' grantee codes, an undefined move whose implications remain unclear. Named firms include Cogito Tech, Fixaxo Technology, Lyno Dynamics, Skyhigh Tech, Spatial Hover, SZ Knowact, WaveGo Tech and Xtra Technology, none of which responded to FCC requests, plus agricultural drone maker XAG.