Pak Sahafat – The British cabinet ordered government buildings to collect surveillance cameras from Chinese companies, including Dahua and Hikvision, from sensitive centers.
According to Pak Sahafat News Agency’s report from the Financial Times newspaper, the British Cabinet Office announced the decision on Tuesday, adding that the government is committed to publishing a timetable for removing surveillance equipment manufactured by Chinese companies from sensitive sites. According to the British government’s office, companies subject to China’s national information law are included in this restriction.
Two sources familiar with the British government’s plan told the Financial Times newspaper that the order directly refers to Dahua and Hikvision, the world’s largest manufacturers of video surveillance equipment.
While the average lifespan of a surveillance camera is seven years, the timeline for government collection is likely to be much faster, they added.
Cabinet ministers are to assure Conservative MPs that they will release the promised timeframe within six months for the plan to become law.
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Jeremy Quinn, head of British government affairs, said: These new measures will protect sensitive sectors from companies that could threaten national security and will act as a strong deterrent to hostile actors looking to strike the UK.
Last November, the British Cabinet Office ordered government buildings to stop installing surveillance equipment manufactured by companies subject to China’s National Intelligence Law. London claims that China’s national intelligence law compels organizations and companies to support, assist and cooperate with the country’s intelligence activities.
According to Fraser Sampson, Commissioner of Surveillance Cameras of the British Government, at least a third of the police forces in England and Wales use surveillance cameras made by Hikvision.
Dahua and Hikvision refused to comment on this matter. However, Hikvision previously announced that identifying this Chinese company as a national security threat is completely wrong and that this company does not have the ability to transfer data from customers to third parties.
Dahua previously announced that it will provide services to British customers for 6 years in accordance with all appropriate laws and regulations and maintain very high standards of cyber security.
In 2019, the United States banned these two Chinese companies, along with other Chinese artificial intelligence surveillance companies, from buying American products, claiming that these surveillance tools helped suppress the Chinese people.