MAJOR online shopping platforms have been told to stop selling unmanned aerial vehicles — commonly known as drones — due to the military parade being held in Beijing on Thursday.

    In a statement, Taobao.com said it had been told by the Ministry of Public Security to stop selling drones and aerospace products until Friday. The company issued the statement last week.

    Other major e-commerce platforms, including JD.com and Suning.com, have also been told to stop selling drones.

    Model aircraft owners have been banned from flying their planes for sports, entertainment and advertising campaigns from Aug. 22 until Sept. 4, within 300 kilometers of Tian’anmen Square.

    The prohibition was announced by the General Administration of Sport’s Aeronautical Radio Model and Sports Management Center.

    When the phrase “unmanned aerial vehicle” is input on e-commerce platforms, no results show up. When consumers input the type of a specific unmanned aerial vehicle, they can only browse information about the product on the webpage, but cannot place an order.

    Drone companies said the suspension of sales on online platforms will have a limited influence in the short term.

    Yu Shengxin, sales manager at Shenzhen Jiuxing Tianli Technology Co., said, “Exports of our drone products comprise a large percentage of total sales, so we are not worried about the ban on sales.”(China Daily)