Page 24 - aruba-today-20191019

A24 TECHNOLOGY
Saturday 19 OctOber 2019
Chinese snooping tech spreads to nations vulnerable to abuse

By DUSAN STOJANOVIC for the musician and activ-
Associated Press ist known as Bobi Wine who
BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — has emerged as a power-
When hundreds of video ful challenger to Museveni.
cameras with the power to "They are not doing this for
identify and track individu- security. The focus for them
als started appearing in the is hunting down political
streets of Belgrade as part opponents."
of a major surveillance proj- In neighboring Kenya, the
ect, some protesters began government has also re-
having second thoughts newed its focus on public
about joining anti-govern- safety after a spate of ex-
ment demonstrations in the tremist attacks. It has been
Serbian capital. pushing to register people
Local authorities assert the digitally, including by re-
system, created by Chi- cording DNA, iris and facial
nese telecommunications data. To do so, it turned
company Huawei, helps to China, which helped fi-
reduce crime in the city of nance the installation of
2 million. Critics contend it surveillance cameras in Ke-
erodes personal freedoms, nya as far back as 2012.
makes political opponents The Kenyan government
vulnerable to retribution wants to pool into one da-
and even exposes the In this photo taken Sept. 25, 2019, high-tech video cameras hang from an office building in tabase all the information
country's citizens to snoop- downtown Belgrade, Serbia. from public and private
ing by the Chinese govern- Associated Press CCTV cameras, including
ment. those with facial recogni-
The cameras, equipped Serbian police deny any few liberal democracies investment programs. The tion technology, a move
with facial recognition tech- such abuse of the Huawei like Germany, France and populist Serbian regime that activists warn would
nology, are being rolled system, which will eventual- Italy. The system is used in has been keen to develop vastly expand its surveil-
out across hundreds of cit- ly encompass 1,000 camer- some 230 cities, exposing closer ties and the coun- lance powers in a country
ies around the world, par- as in 800 locations through- tens of millions of people to try's fragile democracy that does not have com-
ticularly in poorer countries out Belgrade. Huawei said its screening. allows China's economic prehensive data protection
with weak track records on in a statement that it "com- In a promotional brochure, interests to grow relatively laws.
human rights where Beijing plies with all applicable Huawei says its video sur- unchecked, without raising The group says at least 75
has increased its influence laws and regulations" in veillance technology can too many questions about countries are actively us-
through big business deals. Serbia and anywhere else scan over long distances to human rights, environmen- ing AI tools such as facial
With the United States it does business. detect "abnormal behav- tal standards or transparen- recognition for surveillance
claiming that Chinese state While facial recognition ior" such as loitering, track cy. China's state investment — and Huawei has sold its
authorities can get back- technology is being ad- the movement of cars and bank has granted billions of systems in 50 of those coun-
door access to Huawei opted in many countries, people, calculate crowd dollars in easy-term loans to tries, giving it a far wider
data, the aggressive rollout spurring debate over the size and send alerts to a build coal-powered plants, reach than competitors
is raising concerns about balance between privacy command center if it de- roads, railroads and bridg- such as Japan-based NEC
the privacy of millions of and safety, the Huawei sys- tects something suspicious. es. Chinese police officers and U.S.-based IBM.
people in countries with tem has gained extra at- Local authorities can then even help patrol the streets "It's very unclear what safe-
little power to stand up to tention due to accusations act upon the information of Belgrade, a security guards are being put in
China. that Chinese laws requir- they receive. presence officially billed as place," said Steven Feld-
"The system can be used ing companies to assist in In one case advertised on assisting the growing num- stein, a Carnegie Endow-
to trail political opponents, national intelligence work its website, the company ber of Chinese tourists who ment fellow who authored
monitor regime critics at give authorities access to says a suspect in a hit-and- visit the city. a report on the issue.
any moment, which is com- its data. run accident in Belgrade It's a similar story in Uganda, "Where are images being
pletely against the law," As a result, some countries was later discovered in where China has invested stored? How long are they
said Serbia's former com- are reconsidering using China with the help of face heavily in infrastructure like being stored for? What kind
missioner for personal data Huawei technology, partic- recognition data shared highways and a hydropow- of accountability proce-
protection, Rodoljub Sabic. ularly the superfast 5G net- by the Serbian police with er dam on the Nile. dures will there be? What
Groups opposed to Ser- works that are being rolled their Chinese counterparts. When longtime President type of operations will be
bian President Aleksandar out later this year. In view of the cybersecurity Yoweri Museveni launched linked to these surveillance
Vucic say police are leak- Still, Huawei, which denies accusations leveled by the a $126-million project to in- cameras?"
ing video of protests to pro- accusations of any Chinese U.S. and international rights stall Huawei facial recog- Huawei said in an emailed
government media, which government control, has groups against Huawei, the nition systems a year ago, statement that it "com-
publish the images, along had no trouble finding cus- relationship between Chi- he said the cameras were plies with all applicable
with the identities of par- tomers eager to install its na and countries that use "eyes, ears and a nose" to laws and regulations in our
ticipants. Vucic himself has so-called Safe Cities tech- the company's technology fight rampant street crime countries of business. This is
boasted the police have nology, particularly among is coming under renewed in the sprawling capital, the most fundamental prin-
the capability to count countries that China has scrutiny. Kampala. Opposition ac- ciple of our business opera-
"each head" at anti-gov- brought closer into its diplo- China's influence in Serbia, tivists say the real goal is tions. We are dedicated
ernment gatherings. Dur- matic and economic orbit. a European Union candi- to deter street protesters to bringing people better
ing a recent rally, protest- Besides Serbia, that list date that Beijing views as a against an increasingly un- connectivity, eliminating
ers climbed up a pole and includes Turkey, Russia, gateway to the continent, popular government. digital gaps, and promot-
covered a camera lens Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Ango- has significantly expanded "The cameras are politi- ing the sustainable devel-
with duct tape scrawled la, Laos, Kazakhstan, Kenya in recent years through Bei- cally motivated," said Joel opment of our societies
with the word "censored." and Uganda, as well as a jing's global Belt and Road Ssenyonyi, a spokesman and economies."q