Huawei—Tested 'Uyghur Alarm' facial recognition system to flag minority members for police
In 2018, Huawei worked with Megvii to test an AI camera system that could scan faces, estimate age/sex/ethnicity, and trigger a 'Uighur alarm' if detecting minority members, potentially flagging them for police. A confidential document was hosted on Huawei's European website and later deleted after IPVM inquiry. Both companies acknowledged document authenticity. Huawei claimed it was 'simply a test' and had not seen real-world application.
Scoring Impact
| Topic | Direction | Relevance | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Authoritarian Compliance | +toward | primary | -1.00 |
| Surveillance Technology | +toward | primary | -1.00 |
| Overall incident score = | -1.180 | ||
Score = avg(topic contributions) × significance (critical ×2) × confidence (0.59)
Evidence (1 signal)
Internal document shows Uyghur facial recognition alarm system test with Megvii
IPVM found confidential 2018 document on Huawei's European website showing AI camera system test with Megvii that could trigger 'Uighur alarm' when detecting minority members. Document was deleted after IPVM inquiry. Both companies acknowledged document authenticity.