Chinese surveillance cameras still have not been removed from Scottish Government properties

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP has today accused ministers of “lazy digital hygiene” as a freedom of information request published on the Scottish Government website revealed that cameras made by the Chinese firm Hikvision are still in use in six core Scottish Government properties more than a year after the government pledged to remove them.

In November 2022, the UK Government Security Group instructed that cameras made by Chinese companies should not be used by any government department because they must cooperate with Beijing’s intelligence services.

On Wednesday 22nd February 2023, Mr Cole-Hamilton led the first Scottish Parliament debate on Chinese state surveillance, amid revelations about “digital asbestos” CCTV cameras, the uncovering of an alleged secret so-called police station in Glasgow and the intimidation of pro-Hong Kong democracy campaigners in Scotland.

Scottish Liberal Democrats have previously revealed that at least 11 local authorities use cameras manufactured by the Chinese firm Hikvision.

Professor Fraser Sampson, the UK Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner Camera Commissioner, has said that we should be “at least as concerned about the Chinese cameras 6ft above our head” as Chinese spy balloons, having previously described it as “digital asbestos”.

Mr Cole-Hamilton said:

“It is playing with fire to allow companies subject to Chinese state intelligence laws to be at the heart of our CCTV systems.

“Ministers pledged to ensure that these systems were not in use in their own buildings but thanks to the government’s lazy digital hygiene, this work is still dragging on.

“From Hikvision to TikTok, the Scottish Government has consistently dragged its feet in taking action to counter surveillance risks.

“Ministers should come to parliament to confirm that Hikvision cameras have been removed from all Scottish Government sites, that local authorities have been contacted and encouraged to remove this technology from their own sites and that a comprehensive investigation into the reach of the Chinese state in Scotland will take place.

“We must stand firmly on the side of human rights and international law.”