Chinese Surveillance Tech in US Towns - Uighur Abuse Connection

Surveillance Systems from China Purchased by U.S. Municipalities

Contractual data reveals that at least one hundred U.S. counties, cities, and towns have acquired surveillance systems manufactured in China. These systems have been connected by the U.S. government to documented instances of human rights violations.

Financial Outlays and Federal Restrictions

Numerous municipalities have allocated tens of thousands of dollars, or even more, for surveillance equipment originating from two Chinese technology firms: Hikvision and Dahua. This procurement occurred following the addition of these companies to the U.S. government’s economic blacklist in 2019.

The two firms were implicated in China’s ongoing suppression of ethnic minorities residing in Xinjiang, particularly the Uighur Muslim population. Consequently, U.S. federal agencies were prohibited from purchasing new technology from Hikvision and Dahua, or renewing existing contracts, due to concerns about potential espionage facilitated by these systems.

Local Autonomy and Continued Purchases

However, these federal restrictions generally do not extend to state and city governments. This allows local entities to continue purchasing China-made surveillance systems – encompassing video cameras and thermal imaging scanners – with relative freedom, provided federal funding isn't utilized for these acquisitions.

The details regarding these contracts were supplied to TechCrunch by GovSpend, a tracker of government expenditures, through IPVM, a prominent news source specializing in video surveillance and closely monitoring the bans on Hikvision and Dahua.

Notable Expenditures

According to the data, and as previously reported by IPVM, the Fayette County Board of Education in Georgia represents the largest spender. In August 2020, they invested $490,000 in dozens of Hikvision thermal cameras, intended for temperature screening at public schools.

A statement from Fayette County Public Schools spokesperson Melinda Berry-Dreisbach indicated the cameras were sourced through a long-standing security vendor, an authorized Hikvision dealer. The statement did not address awareness of Hikvision’s connections to alleged human rights abuses. Berry-Dreisbach did not provide responses to subsequent inquiries.

Accuracy Concerns and FDA Alerts

Research conducted by IPVM indicated that numerous thermal scanners, including models from Hikvision and Dahua, yielded inaccurate readings. This prompted a public health alert from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, warning that such misreported data could pose “potentially serious public health risks.”

Further Local Purchases

Nash County, North Carolina, with a population of 95,000, spent over $45,000 between September and December 2020 on Dahua thermal cameras. County Manager Zee Lamb confirmed the purchases via email and indicated the equipment was deployed in the county’s public schools, but offered no further comment.

The Parish of Jefferson in Louisiana, encompassing part of New Orleans, allocated $35,000 to Hikvision surveillance cameras and video storage between October 2019 and September 2020. A parish spokesperson declined to comment.

Limited Acknowledgement of Concerns

Only Kern County, California, addressed the links between the purchased technology and human rights concerns. They spent over $15,000 on Hikvision surveillance cameras and recording equipment in June 2020 for their probation department offices. The contract was fulfilled by local vendor Tel Tec Security.

Ryan Alsop, chief administrative officer for Kern County, stated he was “not familiar at all with the issues you’re referencing with regard to Hikvision,” when questioned about the company’s alleged involvement in human rights abuses.

“We didn’t contract with Hikvision; we contracted with Tel Tec Security,” Alsop clarified.

Justifications for Purchase

A spokesperson for the City of Hollywood, Florida, which spent approximately $30,000 on Hikvision thermal cameras, explained that the Chinese manufacturer “was the only major manufacturer with a viable solution that was ready for delivery.”

The cameras were utilized to measure employees’ body temperatures as a measure to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. The spokesperson acknowledged the federal ban did not apply to the city but did not address the human rights concerns.

Lack of Regulation and Privacy Concerns

Maya Wang, a senior researcher at Human Rights Watch, attributed the municipalities’ purchases to a deficiency in privacy regulations at the local level.

“One of the problems is that these kinds of cameras, regardless of the country of origin and regardless of whether or not they’re even linked to human rights abuses, have been introduced to various parts of the country — especially at state and city levels — without any kind of regulation to ensure that they comply with privacy standards,” Wang explained.

“There is, again, no kind of regulatory framework to vet the companies based on their track record, whether or not they have abused human rights in their practices, such that we can evaluate or choose better companies, and encourage the ones with better privacy protections to win, essentially.”

Allegations Against Beijing

The U.S. government alleges that Beijing has heavily relied on Hikvision, Dahua, and other companies to provide the surveillance technology used to monitor the Uighur population. This is part of the government’s ongoing efforts to suppress the ethnic group, allegations which China consistently denies.

United Nations Findings and Blacklisting

United Nations watchdogs report that Beijing has detained over a million Uighurs in internment camps in recent years as part of these efforts. This led to the U.S. blacklisting of the two surveillance technology manufacturers.

The Commerce Department stated that Hikvision and Dahua “have been implicated in human rights violations and abuses in the implementation of China’s campaign of repression, mass arbitrary detention, and high-technology surveillance against Uighurs, Kazakhs, and other members of Muslim minority groups.” The Biden administration has characterized these abuses as a “genocide.”

Senator Warner’s Concerns

Senator Mark Warner, chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, commented on the report, stating: “No company from the People’s Republic of China is truly ‘independent.’ So, when these American entities buy this equipment, they should know that not only are they supporting companies facilitating repression in China, but that the data gathered via this surveillance gear can be shared with the Chinese Communist Party.”

Warner added, “For some time, I have been disturbed that American entities, including companies and universities have facilitated CCP’s surveillance and censorship activities in Xinjiang and beyond.”

“But this is only part of the problem. Americans should also be concerned about how the CCP is working to collect data of U.S. citizens through a variety of tactics. We need to educate Americans, including local government entities, on the risks of buying this type of equipment and its moral and security implications.”

Dahua’s and Hikvision’s Technology

IPVM has extensively documented the use of the companies’ surveillance technology to suppress the Uighurs. Dahua was found to have incorporated race detection into its code, providing “real-time Uighur warnings” to police.

International Findings

Earlier this year, the Thomson Reuters Foundation reported that half of London’s councils and the largest 20 U.K. cities were utilizing technology linked to Uighur abuses. The Guardian also revealed the use of Hikvision surveillance technology in U.K. schools.

Company Responses

Dahua responded by referencing a blog post containing a statement, asserting that “contrary to some reporting in the media, our company has never developed any technology or solution that seeks to target a specific ethnic group.” The statement further claimed: “Claims to the contrary are simply false and we are aware of no evidence that has ever been put forward to support such claims.”

Hikvision did not respond to a request for comment.

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