China: Hikvision cameras sound alarm at protest rallies

(Hier finden Sie die deutsche Version des Beitrags)

Intelligent video surveillance, which has also been widely demanded and tested in Germany, is apparently already well advanced in China. For example, cloud-based software from Hikvision, a major Chinese producer of surveillance cameras, automatically alerts the Chinese police about protests. The British Guardian writes this with reference to a report by the research company IPVM (Internet Protocol Video Market), which specializes in the market for security cameras.

Monitored: protests, crimes and disturbance of public order

According to the article, the platform raises the alarm in the event of, among other things, a "gathering of crowds to disturb public order," "unlawful gatherings, processions and demonstration," and protests aimed at petitions. These activities, according to the article, are listed alongside crimes such as murder, gambling, kidnapping, rape and drug use, or disruptive events such as fire hazards, in technical documents that Hikvision has published in the original Chinese on its own website.

The publications are also said to have initially referred to setting off alarms for the "religion" and "Falun Gong" categories. The latter spiritual movement is banned in China and is classified as a cult by the government of the People's Republic. After IPVM contacted the company, these two entries were deleted, the newspaper reports. However, Hikvision did not answer related questions.

The findings come to light a few weeks after mass protests erupted across China against the communist leadership's zero covid policy. Although the rallies led the government to relax corona measures, many protesters later received calls and reporting requests from police.

Hikvision technology widespread in Germany, banned in USA

After being founded in Hangzhou in 2001, Hikvision grew to become the world's largest manufacturer of video surveillance technology, which is also widely used in Germany. In its evaluation, the group relies, among other things, on biometric features for automated gait and facial recognition, for example. In 2019, the U.S. government blacklisted the company from the Department of Commerce, which means that federal authorities are not allowed to procure its equipment with public funds.

The U.S. government justifies this on the grounds that Hikvision fosters human rights violations in connection with the mass imprisonment of Uyghurs in Xinjiang province. Recently, the U.S. regulatory authority FCC also generally banned the sale and import of Hikvision technology with reference to national security. The group already repeatedly stated that it had removed a relevant detection function from its firmware as early as 2018, but that it had not focused on a "single ethnic group." Nevertheless, British politicians also warn against Hikvision and its competitor Dahua.

(tiw)