Huawei facial recognition technologies identify Uyghurs
Chinese technology company Huawei developed and tested facial recognition technologies capable of identifying Uyghur people in China. In 2018, Huawei reportedly tested an AI camera system that could trigger a "Uighur alarm" when detecting faces of members of the Muslim minority group, according to a document on the company's European website and quickly deleted once revealed. Marketing materials showed Huawei collaborated with multiple companies to create surveillance products advertised as capable of identifying ethnicity., some of which were provided to authorities in Xinjiang, where China has been conducting mass surveillance and detention of Uyghurs. A patent filed by Huawei and the China Academy of Sciences in 2018 described facial recognition technology able to identify people based on ethnicity. Documents suggest Huawei was involved in developing a "One Person, One File" system to store detailed personal information on individuals. The revelations led to backlash against Huawei, including the termination of soccer sponsorship deals in Europe. Huawei denied developing or selling systems specifically targeting ethnic groups, stating that the "Uighur alarm" was only a test that was not applied in the real world. Huawei also said it opposes using technology for ethnic discrimination and claimed to be independent of the Chinese government. Mass surveillance in China In Xinjiang and especially its capital city, Ürümqi , there are security checkpoints and identification stations almost everywhere. The Uyghurs are among those that fall under the "focus personnel" category and is subjected to intense surveillance. Source: Wikipedia 🔗 System 🤖 Uyghur Alarm Face++ Documents 📃 H uawei. Huawei Video Cloud Solution and Megvii Dynamic Face Recognition Interoperability Test Report (pdf) Operator: Government of China Developer: Huawei; Megvii Country: China Sector: Govt - police Purpose: Identify Uyghur people Technology: Facial recognit ion; Machine learning Issue: Human/ci vil rights; Privacy; Surveil lance Investigations, assessments, audits 🧐 IPVM. Huawei / Megvii Uyghur Alarms
- Date it happened
- 2020-12-01
- Organisation involved
- Government of China
- Product, system or model
- Face++; Uyghur Alarm
This incident was imported from AIAAIC and is used under CC BY-SA 4.0. Our additions to it — the structured fields, the translation, the checks against other reports — are published under the same licence.
This is a record of what was reported, not a finding that anyone broke the law. If it names your organisation and you believe it is wrong, the corrections process is free and open to everyone.