The Myanmar military junta’s access to a new public camera system equipped with facial recognition and license plate recognition technology poses a serious threat to basic rights in the country, Human Rights Watch said today. Increased surveillance abilities through artificial intelligence technology are a heightened concern after the February 1 military coup, as the junta has increasingly used deadly force against protesters and others expressing opposing views.

On December 14, 2020, Myanmar authorities rolled out the first phase of its “Safe City” initiative and started using a system of 335 surveillance cameras in eight townships in the capital, Naypyidaw. The cameras, from the technology company Huawei, come installed with artificial intelligence technology that automatically scans faces and vehicle license plates in public places and alerts authorities to those on a wanted list. Myanmar’s Safe City plan envisions similar systems in Mandalay by mid-2021, and later, in Yangon, the commercial capital.

Most of the equipment used in Myanmar’s US$1.2 million project is produced by Huawei, according to a government official cited by Myanmar Now. The same report said that the Naypyidaw-based Linn IT Solutions won the tender to build the control center, and Nang Yoe was selected to install the cameras and communications cables. In a letter to Human Rights Watch dated February 22, Huawei said that as a telecoms supplier, it is providing “standard ICT infrastructure equipment” – referring to information and communications technology – suggesting that the company supplied the CCTV cameras.

Huawei stated that the facial and license plate recognition technology installed on the cameras was not from Huawei: “[T]here are many vendors for different parts of the projects. The application software you paid attention to is not Huawei products. And more important, Huawei is not involved in any actual operation and data storage or processing.” However, Huawei did not clarify whether it sold the government CCTV cameras and associated equipment without these technologies, or had subcontracted the installation of these technologies to other suppliers.