Technology tested on Tibetans, and bought using your tax money.
Hikvision, one of the largest manufacturers of CCTV cameras in the world, looms over Tibet.
The company behind this threat is controlled by the Chinese government, and the technology that they have developed is extremely sophisticated. Utilising advanced artificial intelligence-based technologies, Hikvision cameras are used to discriminate against Tibetans and build a comprehensive surveillance state.
The extent of Hikvision’s surveillance over Tibet remains unknown. They proudly advertise their role in providing cameras to the controversial Qinghai-Tibet Railway, which has had devastating environmental impacts and allows for the rapid deployment of soldiers to the disputed Indo-Tibetan border. There is also strong evidence that Hikvision supplied equipment that created the ‘iron grid’ surveillance system in Lhasa, which saw the Tibetan capital divided into sections patrolled by Communist Party officials with a police station every 500m.
Hikvision’s surveillance equipment is not just complicit in the Chinese Government’s human rights abuses; they are entwined at the very core of Chinese state surveillance.
Research conducted by Free Tibet and Big Brother Watch has revealed the extent to which Hikvision’s technology is used in the UK. In a race to the bottom to save money, governments and public bodies around the country have purchased the relatively cheap Hikvision products.
This means that your tax money is going into Hikvision’s pockets, and helping them to develop more advanced technology to oppress the Tibetan and Uyghur people. This isn’t the end of the issues with Hikvision, however. A number of cybersecurity incidents around the world have raised questions about who has access to Hikvision’s data. Article 7 of China’s National Intelligence Law, which states that Chinese companies shall “cooperate with state intelligence work in accordance with the law,” has led people to ask ‘who is watching us?’
227 local councils across the UK use Hikvision CCTV cameras, with a variety AI capabilities. As these cameras are used in widely in the public realm, the vast majority of the UK population are subject to surveillance by cameras linked to persecution.
One in three police forces use Hikvision equipment, whether for general purposes or automated number plate recognition. Little is known about the advanced AI capabilities of these cameras.
Alongside over half of UK schools using Hikvision, 72 reported to use cameras with advanced capabilities, including 45 schools with facial recognition cameras.
Free Tibet has partnered with friends from other civil society groups to push back against Hikvision’s position in the UK market, with the hope to make the world aware of their crimes and deprive the corporation of a source of income.
Since its launch, the campaign has gone from strength to strength, with actors in both the public and private sectors pledging to end their relationships with Hikvision. We are continuing to push for accountability, to end the practice of profiting from the exploitation of Tibetans, Uyghurs, and all those living under the CCP’s surveillance state.
In response to a joint letter from Big Brother Watch, Free Tibet, Hong Kong Watch, and Stop Uyghur Genocide, the UK supermarket chain Morrisons has joined Tesco in pledging to end their use of Hikvision cameras.
In response to a joint letter from Free Tibet, Big Brother Watch, Hong Kong Watch, and Stop Uyghur Genocide, Tesco CEO Jason Tarry stated that as soon as he became aware of the allegations of human rights violations connected to Dahua and Hikvision, Tesco began “the process of transitioning to new suppliers.”
The fightback against Hikvision in the UK is in full swing!
Since launching the campaign, we have seen win after win. See all of the changes we have secured in one place and join the campaign!
Join the campaign TODAY and fight back against Hikvision’s malignant presence in the UK; together we can deal a blow to Hikvision’s pocket and interrupt the CCP’s intelligence gathering. We need your help to stop the UK paying for Chinese state surveillance. Demand that the UK stop purchasing Hikvision equipment and ban Hikvision sales by signing our petition today.
Nearly two-thirds of UK councils use CCTV linked to Tibetan oppression…
Hikvision is the largest manufacturer of video surveillance equipment in the world and it is controlled by the Chinese state.
