• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Our Services
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter
  • Top Nav Social Icons

FindBiometrics

FindBiometrics

Global Identity Management

  • Biometrics
    • What are Biometrics?
    • FAQ
    • Biometric Associations
    • Companies
    • Premier Partners
  • News
    • Featured Articles
    • Interviews
    • Thought Leadership
    • Podcasts
    • Webinars
    • Year in Review
  • Applications
    • Biometric Security
    • Border Control and Airport Biometrics
    • Consumer and Residential Biometrics
    • Financial Biometrics
    • Fingerprint & Biometric Locks
    • Healthcare Biometrics
    • Justice and Law Enforcement Biometrics
    • Logical Access Control Biometrics
    • Mobile Biometrics
    • Other Biometric Applications
    • Physical Access Control Biometrics
    • Biometric Time and Attendance
  • Solutions
    • Behavioral Biometrics
    • Biometric Sensors and Detectors
    • Facial Recognition
    • Biometric Fingerprint Readers
    • Hand Readers & Finger Scanners
    • Iris Recognition
    • Biometric Middleware and Software
    • Multimodal Biometrics
    • Physiological Biometrics
    • Smart Cards
    • Vein Recognition
    • Voice and Speech Recognition
  • Stocks
  • Events
  • Companies
  • Podcasts

Chinese Police Surveillance App Features Megvii Biometrics Tech: Human Rights Watch

May 3, 2019

“Responding to media inquiries, Megvii has asserted that it has no agreement for the use of its technology in the Chinese police app, and indeed that it has no knowledge of how its technology was integrated into the app.”

Chinese Police Surveillance App Features Megvii Biometrics Tech: Human Rights Watch

The surveillance state that Chinese authorities have built in the country’s Xinjiang region is more intensive than previously thought, with technology from a major Chinese biometrics specialist playing a key role, according to a new report from Human Rights Watch.

China’s harsh surveillance of the large population of Uyghur muslims living in Xinjiang was already well-known. But Human Rights Watch’s new analysis of a mobile app used by Chinese police in the region, which was reverse-engineered by the Berlin-based cybersecurity firm Cure53, reveals that police are logging extensive personal data about residents including things like blood type, political affiliation, and ‘suspicious activities’ such as collecting money from a mosque or using a door other than the front door to enter and exit one’s home.

The analysis also found that the police app is designed to let authorities collect face biometrics data using technology from Face++, a company owned by Megvii. An expert in AI-driven facial recognition, Megvii has reportedly raised hundreds of millions of dollars from prominent investors like Alibaba, and the company announced last September that it had teamed up with Himax and MediaTek to develop 3D face modelling technology for Android mobile devices.

Responding to media inquiries, Megvii has asserted that it has no agreement for the use of its technology in the Chinese police app, and indeed that it has no knowledge of how its technology was integrated into the app.

Human Rights Watch’s report comes soon after a security researcher claimed in March that SenseNets, another provider of facial recognition technology for China’s state surveillance apparatus, was using technology provided by Microsoft. Like Megvii, Microsoft denied knowledge of how its technology had wound up in the repressive surveillance system.

Sources: Bloomberg, ABC News

–

May 3, 2019 – by Alex Perala

Related News

  • Hong Kong Regulators Want More Info Before Megvii IPO Can Be ApprovedHong Kong Regulators Want More Info Before Megvii IPO Can Be Approved
  • Megvii Raises Millions from State, Foreign Banks Amid Human Rights Watch Controversy Over Biometric SurveillanceMegvii Raises Millions from State, Foreign Banks Amid Human Rights Watch Controversy Over Biometric Surveillance
  • Federal Law Enforcement Keeps Signing New Facial Recognition ContractsFederal Law Enforcement Keeps Signing New Facial Recognition Contracts
  • NtechLab Brings Controversial Facial Recognition System to Middle EastNtechLab Brings Controversial Facial Recognition System to Middle East
  • Report: Huawei and Megvii Designed Facial Recognition System to Target Uighur MinoritiesReport: Huawei and Megvii Designed Facial Recognition System to Target Uighur Minorities
  • Australian Rights Commissioner Calls for Better Biometric Facial Recognition LegislationAustralian Rights Commissioner Calls for Better Biometric Facial Recognition Legislation

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Biometric, biometric surveillance, biometrics, ethical issues, Face, face biometrics, facial recognition, government biometrics, Megvii, mobile apps, Xinjiang

Primary Sidebar

Want To Deploy Biometric Access? Download This First:

The resources in this bundle will give you the know-how to choose the right biometric access for your organization.

Sponsored Links

facetec logo

FaceTec’s patented, industry-leading 3D Face Authentication software anchors digital identity, creating a chain of trust from user onboarding to ongoing authentication on all modern smart devices and webcams. FaceTec’s 3D FaceMaps™ make trusted, remote identity verification finally possible. As the only technology backed by a persistent spoof bounty program and NIST/iBeta Certified Liveness Detection, FaceTec is the global standard for Liveness and 3D Face Matching with millions of users on six continents in financial services, border security, transportation, blockchain, e-voting, social networks, online dating and more. www.facetec.com

TECH5 logo

TECH5 is an international technology company founded by experts from the biometrics industry, which focuses on developing disruptive biometric and digital ID solutions through the application of AI and Machine Learning technologies.

TECH5 target markets include both Government and Private sectors with products powering Civil ID, Digital ID, as well as authentication solutions that deliver identity assurance for various use cases. 

Learn more: www.tech5.ai

With its secunet border gears product portfolio and specialised consulting expertise, secunet supports police forces and security authorities in their sovereign tasks. Whether ABC gates, self-service kiosks or biometric middleware – each component helps to strengthen identity protection and to accelerate verification – in mobile and stationary scenarios.

Mobile ID World Logo

Mobile ID World is here to bring you the latest in mobile authentication solutions and application providers. Our company is dedicated to providing users with the best content and cutting edge information on technology, news, and mobile solutions for your mobile identity management needs.

Recent Posts

  • Police Biometrics, a Data Breach, and Card-focused Partnerships – Identity News Digest
  • Catch Up: The Latest Developments in Biometric Privacy Regulations
  • Highlighting Biometric Security, NC DMV Head Pushes for Mobile Driver’s License
  • NY Attorney General Takes Aim at Madison Square Garden: Identity News Digest
  • [New Sponsors Announced] Feb 15 Virtual Summit Sessions Announced: Digital ID in Healthcare, Financial Services, Travel

Biometric Associations

IBIA and fido

Tweets

Footer

  • About Us
  • Company Directory
  • Advertise With Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Archives
  • CCPA: Do not sell my personal info.

Follow Us

Copyright © 2023 FindBiometrics