China using 'predictive policing' in Xinjiang region: HRW [View all]
NEW YORK (AFP) -
Chinese authorities are using big data and predictive computing power to flag and detain individuals deemed threatening in the western Xinjiang region, Human Rights Watch said Tuesday.
According to the New York-based rights group, Xinjiang authorities are collating vast troves of information on individuals, often without their knowledge, and using this to identify targets to check up on.
The Xinjiang region has a mostly Muslim Uighur population, which has struggled with increasingly strict curbs on their faith, including bans on beards and public prayers.
"For the first time, we are able to demonstrate that the Chinese government's use of big data and predictive policing not only blatantly violates privacy rights, but also enables officials to arbitrarily detain people," Maya Wang, senior China researcher at Human Rights Watch (HRW), said in a statement.
"People in Xinjiang can't resist or challenge the increasingly intrusive scrutiny of their daily lives because most don't even know about this 'black box' program or how it works."
The data are collected under the "Integrated Joint Operations Platform," which pools information from individuals' bank records, legal past, computer details and other sources including security camera footage, HRW said.
http://www.france24.com/en/20180227-china-using-predictive-policing-xinjiang-region-hrw
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