The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster has announced today that surveillance equipment “produced by companies subject to the National Intelligence Law of the People’s Republic of China” must no longer be deployed in sensitive sites. The statement can be found here.
Big Brother Watch’s Legal and Policy Officer Madeleine Stone says:
“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% of public bodies.
“Now the government has acknowledged the risk these companies pose to national security, they should protect the public at large and ban Hikvision and Dahua from operating anywhere in the UK.
“It is unacceptable that companies that pose a real risk to security and rights are allowed to operate on the streets of Britain.”
- Big Brother Watch has been campaigning for a ban on Hikvision and Dahua, and earlier this year published a report on the dominance of Chinese state-owned CCTV in the public sector.
- Big Brother Watch also co-ordinated a cross party pledge from almost 70 parliamentarians calling for a ban on Hikvision and Dahua and a national review of modern CCTV in the UK.
- Spokespeople are available – contact Big Brother Watch at info@bigbrotherwatch.org.uk or 02080758480