Posted by Councils and police have been told to consider CCTV firms’ human rights records before purchasing, surveillance cameras.
Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Tom Tugendhat had previously called for a ban on Chinese camera tech it says was used in Uyghur internment camps.
But there are doubts the government will add the proposed ethical rule to the CCTV code.
An update to the Surveillance Camera Code of Practice is expected soon – the first update in eight years.
The update seeks to set out the rules which police and local authorities in England and Wales are expected to follow when using surveillance cameras.
Tom Tugendhat MP told reporters: that he was pleased to see the surveillance camera commissioner call for ethical considerations to be included in the camera code.
“The foreign affairs committee has already called for a ban on companies associated with the egregious human rights abuses being committed in Xinjiang.
“Those purchasing equipment should consider the ethical and moral cost, not just the price.”On 8 July, the foreign affairs committee published a report which said cameras made by Chinese firm Hikvision “provide the primary camera technology used in the internment camps” and recommended that it “should not be permitted to operate within the UK”.
China claims the camps are “re-education” facilities used to combat terrorism.Hikvision has said it does not oversee or control its devices once they are passed to installers, adding that “operational matters are not within our remit”. He said.