China using big data as repression tool in restive Xinjiang region, Human Rights Watch says
Integrated Joint Operations Platform tracks almost all citizens of the Turkic-speaking Muslim Uygur ethnic minority, group says
Human Rights Watch said it has found fresh evidence that authorities in one of China’s most repressive regions are sweeping up citizens’ personal information in a stark example of how big data technology can be used to police a population – and potentially abused.
The rights group used publicly available government procurement documents, media reports and interviews to assemble details of the policing programme called the “Integrated Joint Operations Platform” in Xinjiang, a sprawling area in northwestern China that security officials say harbours separatist and religious extremist elements.
Unidentified sources inside Xinjiang described to Human Rights Watch the computer and mobile app interfaces of the software that tracks almost all citizens of the Turkic-speaking Muslim Uygur ethnic minority and stores detailed information including their travel history, prayer habits, number of books in their possession, banking and health records.
Procurement notices show that the platform also deploys vehicle number plate tracking and facial recognition cameras to follow people in real time and provide “predictive warnings” about impending crime, Human Rights Watch said.
