A human rights organisation has found that three companies based in France, Sweden and the Netherlands exported digital surveillance systems, such as facial recognition technology and network cameras, to operators of mass surveillance apparatus in China.
In some cases, the export was directly for use in China’s mass surveillance programmes, with the risk of being used against Uyghurs and other minority ethnic groups throughout the country.
Most governments of countries in the EU, including France and Sweden, are resisting pressure to strengthen export rules to include strong human rights safeguards in biometric surveillance technology.