US Commerce Department Withdraws Plan to Restrict Chinese-Made Drones

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The U.S. Commerce Department said on Friday it has dropped plans to impose new restrictions on Chinese-made drones aimed at addressing national security concerns, stepping back from a proposal that followed an earlier crackdown on passenger cars and trucks.

The decision comes after the Federal Communications Commission last month barred imports of new models of foreign-made drones and critical components on national security grounds, including products from China’s DJI and Autel. The FCC said this week it would exempt some non-Chinese drones from those restrictions.

The Commerce Department had said in September that it planned to issue rules that could restrict or potentially block imports of Chinese drones due to concerns over information and communications technology supply chains. The proposal was sent to the White House for review on October 8, but was formally withdrawn on Thursday, according to a government website posting released on Friday.

Under the FCC’s current measures, Chinese drone manufacturers cannot obtain the approvals needed to sell new drone models or key components in the United States. However, the rules do not ban the import, sale or use of existing drone models previously authorized, nor do they affect drones already purchased by users.

Records posted online show that the White House and the Commerce Department discussed the drone proposal through December 19 and met with DJI officials on December 11. During those discussions, DJI argued that blanket restrictions on drones manufactured in China would be “unnecessary, conceptually flawed, and extremely harmful to U.S. stakeholders.”

The withdrawal appears to be linked to a broader pause in actions targeting China ahead of a planned meeting in April between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, according to a government official briefed on the matter.

The Commerce Department had previously warned that threats from China and Russia could allow adversaries to remotely access or manipulate drone systems, potentially exposing sensitive U.S. data. It had also been considering restrictions on key drone systems such as onboard computers, communications equipment, flight control systems, operating software and data storage — measures that some experts said could amount to an effective ban on Chinese drones.

Chinese imports account for the majority of commercial drone sales in the United States, with DJI alone representing more than half of the market. Neither the Commerce Department nor DJI immediately responded to requests for comment.

Elon Musk’s Grok Faces Global Scrutiny Over Sexualised AI-Generated Images

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Governments and regulators across Europe, Asia and Oceania have condemned — and in some cases launched investigations into — sexually explicit images generated by Grok, the chatbot developed by xAI and integrated into X. The backlash has intensified pressure on the platform to demonstrate how it prevents and removes illegal content.

Late on Thursday, Grok said it would restrict image generation and editing features to paying subscribers only. Earlier this month, the chatbot acknowledged lapses in its safeguards after isolated cases in which it generated sexualised content, including depictions of minors in minimal clothing.
Elon Musk has said that users who create illegal content using Grok would face the same consequences as if they had uploaded such material directly.

Below are reactions from governments and regulators worldwide:

EUROPE
The European Commission extended a retention order requiring X to preserve all internal documents and data related to Grok until the end of 2026, amid concerns over AI-generated sexualised “undressing” images.

Britain’s communications regulator Ofcom said it had made urgent contact with X and xAI and would assess whether the service complies with obligations under the UK’s Online Safety Act.

In France, government ministers said they had referred explicit Grok-generated content circulating on X to prosecutors and alerted media regulator Arcom to review compliance with the EU’s Digital Services Act.

Germany’s media minister Wolfram Weimer urged the European Commission to take legal action, warning that the issue risked becoming the “industrialisation of sexual harassment.”

Italy’s data protection authority warned that generating “undressed” deepfake images of real people without consent could constitute serious privacy violations and, in some cases, criminal offences.

Swedish political leaders also condemned Grok-generated sexualised imagery after reports that content involving the country’s deputy prime minister had been created from a user prompt.

ASIA
India’s IT Ministry issued a formal notice to X on January 2 over alleged Grok-enabled creation or sharing of obscene images, ordering the content removed and demanding a report on remedial actions within 72 hours.

Malaysia’s communications regulator MCMC said it would summon X and open an investigation into the alleged misuse of Grok to generate sexualised “undressing” images, warning of potential offences under national law.

OCEANIA
Australia’s online safety regulator eSafety Commissioner said it was investigating Grok-generated sexualised deepfake imagery under its image-based abuse framework. It noted that while adult material was under review, examples involving children examined so far did not meet the legal threshold for child sexual abuse material under Australian law.

Germany Plans New Measures to Curb Harmful AI Image Manipulation

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Germany’s justice ministry said on Friday it is preparing measures that would allow authorities to more effectively combat the use of artificial intelligence to manipulate images in ways that violate personal rights.

The move comes amid growing scrutiny in Europe over AI-generated imagery, including investigations into Grok, the built-in chatbot on X owned by billionaire Elon Musk. Grok has faced criticism for its so-called “spicy mode,” which allows users to generate sexually explicit images.

A Reuters investigation found that the chatbot’s image generation tools were being used to create images of women and children in minimal clothing, often without the consent of the individuals depicted. Germany’s media minister earlier this week urged the European Commission to take legal action to halt what he described as the “industrialisation of sexual harassment” on X.

Speaking at a regular government press conference, justice ministry spokesperson Anna-Lena Beckfeld said the government was preparing to address the issue through domestic legal channels.

“It is unacceptable that manipulation on a large scale is being used for systematic violations of personal rights,” Beckfeld said. “We therefore want to ensure that criminal law can be used more effectively to combat this.”

She said the ministry is working on tighter regulation of deepfakes and plans to introduce legislation targeting digital violence, aimed at better supporting victims. The goal, she added, is to make it easier for individuals to take direct action against violations of their rights online.

Beckfeld said concrete proposals would be presented in the near future but declined to provide further details at this stage.

After initially dismissing concerns over Grok’s image-generation features, xAI has since restricted the function to paid subscribers. Musk said last week that anyone using the chatbot to create illegal content would face the same consequences as if they had uploaded such material directly.