How Chinese firm linked to repression of Uyghurs aids Israeli surveillance in West Bank

[cbabe]

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/nov/11/west-bank-palestinians-surveillance-cameras-hikvision

How Chinese firm linked to repression of Uyghurs aids Israeli surveillance in West Bank

Cameras made by Hikvision, which is blacklisted in US, blanket the occupied West Bank, according to Amnesty International

Johana Bhuiyan
Sat 11 Nov 2023 11.00 EST

In the occupied Palestinian territories, there are cameras everywhere. In Silwan, in occupied East Jerusalem, residents say cameras were installed by Israeli police up and down their streets, peering into their homes. One resident named Sara said she and her family “could be detected as if the cameras were just in our house … we couldn’t feel at home in our own house and had to be fully dressed all the time.”

Surveillance cameras now cover the Damascus Gate, the main entrance into the old city of Jerusalem and one of the only public areas for Palestinians to gather socially and hold demonstrations. It’s at that gate that “Palestinians are being watched and assessed at all times”, according to an Amnesty International report, Automated Apartheid. These cameras have created a chilling effect on not just the ability to protest but also on the daily lives of Palestinians who live under occupation, according to Amnesty investigators. The organization had previously concluded that Israel has established a system of apartheid against Palestinians.

Among the vendors behind these surveillance cameras is a company that has been accused of aiding what the US has categorized as a genocide: Hikvision. Based in Hangzhou, China, the company is one of the world’s largest makers of video surveillance equipment. Already infamous among international human rights groups, it has been blacklisted by the US and identified by the UK as a security threat for being complicit in China’s repression of the Uyghur ethnic minority.

The presence of Hikvision cameras in the West Bank was first revealed in the May report by Amnesty, which documented facial-recognition and surveillance-camera technology that the human rights organization concluded is being used to reinforce Israel’s occupation of the West Bank in an act of “digital repression”. Amnesty surveyed two West Bank neighborhoods, East Jerusalem and Hebron, where Israeli settlers have set up homes in violation of international law, and found that facial-recognition systems “are providing the Israeli authorities with powerful new tools for curbing freedom of movement … adding further layers of technological sophistication to the system of apartheid that Israel is imposing on Palestinians”.

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[stopdiggin]

1. surveillance systems are rapidly being adopted

everywhere around the globe. And with considerable support (including wholesale personal and business installation) from private citizens - along with applause for any government efforts (traffic cams, plate readers, etc. ).

(not saying there isn't an element of big brother and intrusion in the making here - but the world is awash, mostly with large public support - and trying to make this as something unique to either Israel, or the Chinese - requires some contortion.)

[cbabe]

2. Your Face Belongs to Us: The Secretive Startup Dismantling Your Privacy

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/200526547-your-face-belongs-to-us

Your Face Belongs to Us: The Secretive Startup Dismantling Your Privacy

Gripping' NEW STATESMAN ‘Illuminating. A walk down the street will not feel quite the same again’ ECONOMIST*LONGLISTED FOR THE FINANCIAL TIMES BUSINESS BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD* ______________________________________________________________________ When Kashmir Hill stumbled upon Clearview AI, a mysterious startup selling an app that claimed it could identify anyone using just a snapshot of their face, the implications were terrifying. The app could use the photo to find your name, your social media profiles, your friends and family – even your home address. But this was just the start of a story more shocking than she could have imagined. Launched by computer engineer Hoan Ton-That and politician Richard Schwartz, and assisted by a cast of controversial characters on the alt-right, Clearview AI would quickly rise to the top, sharing its app with billionaires and law enforcement. In this riveting feat of reporting Hill weaves the story of Clearview AI with an exploration of how facial recognition technology is reshaping our lives, from its use by governments and companies like Google and Facebook (who decided it was too radical to release) to the consequences of racial and gender biases baked into the AI. Soon it could expand the reach of policing — as it has in China and Russia — and lead us into a dystopian future.Your Face Belongs to Us is a gripping true story. It illuminates our tortured relationship with technology, the way it entertains us even as it exploits us, and it presents a powerful warning that in the absence of regulation, this technology will spell the end of our anonymity.

(Your points are well taken. One other point is even the us outlawed this tech. And we don’t quite yet have a camera pointed in every window.)