Alibaba Dismayed by Ethnicity Detection in Cloud Unit

Major technology companies in China are facing global disapproval following reports indicating they possess capabilities to create profiles of Muslim Uyghurs.

Research conducted by IPVM, a publication specializing in the surveillance technology sector, reveals that Alibaba Cloud, the cloud computing division of Alibaba, created a facial recognition system capable of identifying an individual’s ethnic background, specifically determining if they are “Uyghur.”

The Chinese government has consistently justified its contentious “vocational skills education and training centers” for Muslim ethnic minorities – including Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and others – as a necessary component of its counterterrorism strategy.

Alibaba released a statement expressing its “disappointment” upon learning of the testing of a technology that incorporated “ethnicity as an algorithmic factor.” The company affirmed that “discrimination or profiling based on race or ethnicity in any manner is a violation of Alibaba’s principles and values.”

“Our intention was never for this technology to be utilized in targeting particular ethnic groups, and we will not allow such use. We have removed any ethnic classifications from our product offerings. This trial technology was not implemented by any client. We do not, and will not, permit our technology to be used to target or identify specific ethnic groups,” the company further stated.

A data security incident from the previous year brought to light that a “smart city” surveillance platform operating on Alibaba Cloud had the ability to recognize individuals’ ethnicity or categorize them as Uyghur Muslims, as previously reported by TechCrunch. At that time, Alibaba asserted that, as a public cloud service provider, it “lacks the authority to access the data contained within customer databases.”

IPVM’s investigations earlier this month also uncovered that Huawei and Megvii, an artificial intelligence company renowned for its Face++ facial recognition technology, collaborated on a system designed to notify Chinese authorities upon detecting a member of the Uyghur community.

As Chinese technology companies expand their operations internationally, they are increasingly navigating a difficult position between the requirements of the Beijing government and international concerns regarding their positions on human rights.

Cloud computing represents one of Alibaba’s most rapidly expanding business areas, and the company is actively seeking to attract a larger base of international clients. According to research from Gartner, Alibaba Cloud held the leading position in the Asia Pacific region and ranked as the third-largest infrastructure as a service (IaaS) provider worldwide last year.

Alibaba’s cloud division experienced a 60% year-over-year growth, contributing nearly 10% to the company’s total revenue during the quarter ending in September. The company reports that approximately 60% of companies listed on the A-share market – those based in mainland China and traded in RMB – are currently clients of Alibaba Cloud.