The Government has ordered to cease the installation of CCTV cameras supplied by Chinese state-owned surveillance firms, at ‘sensitive’ sites. Ministers at Whitehall have also been informed that all existing cameras will be disconnected from departmental core networks.
Alicia Kearns, chairwoman of the China Research Group of Tory MPs, said that companies like Hikvision and Dahua are a part of a sinister network of surveillance firms that “present a national security risk.”
This move comes as a response to campaigners raising concerns over the dominance of Chinese state-owned CCTV in the UK. Rights groups are urging officials to ban the use of such intrusive surveillance technology everywhere in the UK and not just on ‘sensitive’ sites.
Madeleine Stone, legal and policy officer at Big Brother Watch said, ‘The government’s decision to end the deployment of Hikvision and Dahua surveillance equipment is an important first step but the protection afforded to ministers and civil servants must be expanded to all of us. Our research has found that Chinese state-owned CCTV is used by over 60 per cent of public bodies.”
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