Moral concerns over Chinese CCTV in Moray

Concerns have been raised over Chinese CCTV equipment being used in Moray Council buildings, such as schools, offices and libraries.

Draeyk Van der Horn (Forres, Greens) called for the use of Hikvision systems to be phased out on security and ethical grounds.

The company is part-owned by the Chinese government and cllr Van der Horn linked it to the persecution of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang.

He said: “This technology has been used by this particular company to cause quite severe repression in China, and the genocide of the Uyghur people.

“It’s been blocked by the USA and the UK government has removed all this CCTV from sensitive sites.”

Cllr Van der Horn added that Perth and Kinross as well as Edinburgh City councils were already looking at the potential issues connected to Hikvision systems.

He asked the council to make a commitment to phasing out use of the company’s CCTV as well as other Chinese-made surveillance equipment.

Chief financial officer Lorraine Paisey replied that while ethical checks were carried out during the procurement process, it was difficult to look at every aspect, given the long length of some supply chains.

The issue was brought up during a meeting on Tuesday, where changes to the council’s CCTV policy were discussed.

New measures mean that signs will be placed in clear and prominent positions to state that cameras are in operation.

Procedures will also be put in place to verify how each system is accessed and monitored.

Detailed records are also going to be maintained about the disclosure of captured images to third parties, such as the police.

It was agreed that council officers will look at the issues relating to Hikvision CCTV and bring a report back to the local authority’s corporate committee.