IPVM unearths a patent that shows Huawei used “explicitly racist technology.”

IPVM, a world authority on video surveillance, said in an article Tuesday that Huawei, Megvii, and several other Chinese tech companies have filed patents in China for various devices and systems that include Uighur and ethnic minority detection.

It published the article in conjunction with the BBC, which conducted its own investigation.

Huawei

According to IPVM, Huawei and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) jointly applied for a patent in July 2018 for an “object attribute recognition method, device, computing equipment, and system”. It includes the “identification of pedestrian attributes,” including those of the Han and Uighur races.

Furthermore, the patent application contains the following reference:

“For example, the target object is a pedestrian. The attributes of the target object can be gender (male, female), age (such as teenagers, middle-aged, old), race (Han, Uyghur), body (fat, thin, standard), top [clothing] style (short sleeve, long sleeve), top color (black, red, blue, green, white, yellow), etc.”

However, when asked to comment, a Huawei spokesman said this as per the BBC:

“Huawei opposes discrimination of all types, including the use of technology to carry out ethnic discrimination,” he said. “Identifying individuals’ race was never part of the research-and-development project. It should never have become part of the application. And we are taking proactive steps to amend it. We are continuously working to ensure new and evolving technology is developed and applied with the utmost care and integrity.”

Megvii

In June 2019 Megvii filed a patent application for a “portrait retrieval method and device” powered by a “neural network” that “extracts [facial] features.” It mentions:

“It is necessary to divide the ethnicity classification standards, for example, [the portraits] can be divided according to Han, non-Han, and unknown. Similarly, it can also be based on actual needs […] for example, it can be divided according to Han, non-Han and unknown, or according to Han, Uighur, non-Han, non-Uighur, and unknown.”

Megvii told the BBC it would now withdraw its patent application.

“Megvii recognizes that the language used in our 2019 patent application is open to misunderstanding,” it said. “We have not developed and will not develop or sell racial- or ethnic-labeling solutions.”

“Megvii acknowledges that, in the past, we have focused on our commercial development and lacked appropriate control of our marketing, sales, and operations materials. We are undertaking measures to correct the situation.”

Others

IPVM found similar issues with patent applications by SenseTime, Alibaba, Baidu, Intellifusion, and SensingTech.

SenseTime said the patent was “regrettable,” will “update.”

Alibaba: “Racial or ethnic discrimination or profiling in any form violates our policies and values. We never intended our technology to be used for and will not permit it to be used for targeting specific ethnic groups.”

Baidu said it has “never developed or permitted its technology to profile any ethnic group”, saying the patent does not represent “the expected implementation of the invention.”

Intellifusion and SensingTech did not comment.

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