DJI will no longer stop drones from flying over airports, wildfires, and the White House, passing the buck to US law enforcement to prevent some of the worst forms of drone misuse. Some are suggesting the curious timing of that decision is political,

The drone maker is removing software restraints that prevented its products from flying over restricted areas, ceding control to drone pilots.

DJI, which accounts for an estimated 90% of hobby drone sales in the U.S., announced this week that it will stop geoblocking its drones from flying over airports and military bases. The changes took effect on Monday on both the DJI Fly and DJI Pilot flight apps.

For over a decade, you couldn’t easily fly a DJI drone over restricted areas in the United States. DJI’s software would automatically stop you from flying over runways, power plants, public emergencies like wildfires,