Hikvision

The two leaders of the House Foreign Affairs Committee have requested that President Biden make a determination about whether sanctions should be imposed on Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co., Ltd. (Hikvision) for its activities related to human rights abuses.

Reports last week indicated that Chinese-made security cameras found in Australian government offices would be removed.

Last week, the UK's House of Lords discussed an amendment to a procurement bill that would further exclude Chinese-made surveillance technology from the supply chain.

Last week, UK Cabinet office minister Oliver Dowden announced that the UK will be restricting Chinese-made surveillance equipment from sensitive sites, including government buildings.

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) took action last week to further crack down on the use of Chinese-tied telecoms equipment in American communications networks, issuing new rules that will cover the products of five well-known Chinese companies.

A new report by IVPM and National Review alleges that Amazon is engaging in two practices that "raise legal, national security, and ethical concerns" related to U.S.-China economic relations, and suggests there may be violations of a U.S. statute as a result.

In the UK Parliament last week, a Labour party MP pressed a trade official from the UK government about purchases of surveillance products from China. This issue has been hotly debated in recent months and years, and could be addressed in upcoming legislation.