Axis CEO Touted Tiananmen Square Cameras Sale In 2010, Says Likely Make Different Decision Today

In 2010, while growing rapidly in the PRC, Axis' CEO touted over 70 Axis cameras deployed in Tiananmen Square, boasting that the same government which massacred students in 1989 chose Axis for its "very good picture quality".

Axis CEO Ray Mauritsson told Swedish media, at that time, that "we do not sit down to judge any country" when asked about the human rights risks of selling to PRC authorities. Simultaneously, Axis' then-communications manager mused that "Tibetan monks can set up cameras themselves so they can see when the [PRC] military arrives".

However, in response to IPVM questions now, Axis emphasized the "human rights perspective is becoming increasingly more important for us", it is "likely that we would make different decisions today than we did back in 2010," though they declined to definitively say whether they would permit a Tiananmen Square sale today.

Swedish Newspaper Publishes "Axis' Dealings With China Are Criticized"

In 2010, Swedish newspaper Sydsvenskan published an article titled "Axis' dealings with China are criticized" about the human rights concerns surrounding Axis' PRC expansion:

Tiananmen Cameras Chosen For "Very Good Picture Quality"

In the article, Axis CEO Ray Mauritsson boasted about selling over 70 Axis cameras to PRC authorities for Tiananmen Square despite the 1989 massacre saying Axis was chosen for its "very good picture quality":

Since the crushing of the democracy movement in 1989, it has been a priority for the Chinese Communist Party to stop every attempt at new protests in Tiananmen Square. To help them, they saw last year Axis, which sold 70 over surveillance cameras to be used on the square. "They chose us because they wanted very good picture quality. We were the first to come out with HD TV quality," says Axis CEO Ray Mauritsson. The cameras were delivered for the People's Republic's 60th anniversary celebration in 2009, when a large military parade with, among other things, nuclear missiles [paraded by] Mao's portrait. [emphasis added]

On June 4, 1989, PRC authorities fired on students protesting for greater freedoms in and around Beijing's Tiananmen square. The PRC government reported 241 deaths while the US State Department estimated "probably over one thousand".

Axis: "We Do Not Sit Down To Judge Any Country"

When criticized by Amnesty International over the "imminent risk" of Axis cameras being used for PRC "human rights violations", Mauritsson said "we do not sit down and judge any country" and compared selling cameras to selling knives:

Axis believes that they only follow the laws that exist. "We do not sit down to judge any country. We have no opportunity to investigate how our customers use the cameras," says Ray Mauritsson. He believes that all products can be abused. "If you invent a knife, it can be stabbed in humans. We do not take responsibility for how the customer uses our equipment. We just want to provide more efficient technology than what China uses today," says Ray Mauritsson.

To emphasize the point that Axis does not care about end usage, Axis' then-communications manager Margareta Lantz speculated that "Tibetan monks can set up cameras themselves so they can see when the military arrives":

"Tibetan monks can set up cameras themselves so they can see when the military arrives," suggests Axis communications manager Margareta Lantz. [emphasis added]

Tibetan activists have long accused the PRC of political, cultural, and religious oppression and violence, e.g. Human Rights Watch recently found harsh 20-year jail sentences for peaceful Tibetan monks. (The PRC considers Tibetans have full "freedom of religious belief" and accuses critics of "separatism".)

Axis: PRC China "Market With The Greatest Potential"

In the article, Mauritsson said that "China is the market with the greatest potential for Axis in the future". In 2010, Axis' PRC office was growing at about 40% per year and at the time was considered a "huge" growth opportunity, although this ended in the mid-2010s due to a PRC government procurement barriers on foreign products.

IPVM will cover the Rise and Fall of Axis PRC China in an upcoming, separate, article.

Axis Response

IPVM asked Axis whether it stood by these remarks now in 2021. Bjorn Hallerborn, Axis' current communications manager, responded with the below statement that the quotes "don't really represent the whole conversation with the reporter", and that "the article is 11 years old" while noting various "export control mechanisms":

the quotes in the article you refer don’t really represent the whole conversation with the reporter. At any rate, the article is 11 years old and a lot has happened in the world since then, for instance in the areas of export legislation and corporate responsibility. While it’s very difficult for us to have full knowledge of how all end users use our products, we have taken several steps forward during the last decade within corporate responsibility, relating to how our technology is used. This includes export control mechanisms, automatic screening of customers, education of employees and closer dialogue with customers. But we acknowledge there is more that can be done, and we are closely monitoring initiatives such as the upcoming EU legislation on human rights due diligence and how that can be implemented throughout our value chain.

You can find more information about our view on human rights in our code of conduct, and our latest sustainability report shows our progress and improvement areas.

IPVM followed-up asking whether Axis would, today, sell cameras for use in Tiananmen Square. Hallerborn replied that if any "intended use" went against "our ethical principles, we would decline participation" but deflected, again, on Tiananmen cameras:

Our automatic screening process, that I referred to in my previous email, is based on national and international (including EU, US and Japan) lists of sanctions and restrictions. Since we comply with these lists, there are destinations we don’t export to, and there are also specific end user categories in certain destinations we don’t sell to. In addition to this, we make our own assessments based on our ethical principles. In these assessments, we focus on the intended use of or technology. For instance, our products must not be used to violate human rights, and there have been cases when we have turned down participating in projects because of this. So, in the examples you refer to, if our assessment was that the intended use would go against our ethical principles, we would decline participation. [emphasis added]

When IPVM asked if this means that the Tiananmen cameras did comply with Axis' ethics principles, Hallerborn deflected again, stating generally that "it’s likely that we would make different decisions today than we did back in 2010":

Since the political landscape and markets change, and the human rights perspective is becoming increasingly more important for us as well as for other companies, it’s likely that we would make different decisions today than we did back in 2010.

Axis declined to comment on the cost and ultimate fate of the Axis Tiananmen square surveillance system.

Journalist Stands By Reporting, Axis Human Rights Comments "Problematic"

The journalist who wrote the 2010 article, Ola Wong, a well-regarded Swedish China analyst, editor, and author, rejected Axis' characterization that he did not represent the whole conversation, telling IPVM that even when he asked follow-up questions, Axis "continued to say things that from a human rights perspective came across as problematic":

I asked Mr Mauritsson and Margareta Lanz [Axis' then-comms manager] several time about the problematic implications from the Chinese governments usage of their technique, and they repeated the same kind of arguments. I quoted what they said, and I asked follow-up questions where they continued to say things that from a human rights perspective came across as problematic [emphasis added]

Axis: PRC Police Sales Don't "Automatically" Violate Human Rights

Axis has a history of standing by PRC police sales, despite the company's small PRC presence. In September 2020, Amnesty International released a report criticizing Axis for its sales to PRC police via local integrators. Amnesty did not mention Tiananmen but various other deals (2013 Jingjiang police, 2012 Guilin police, Shanghai police, and others).

At the time Axis defended selling products to PRC police and told IPVM this "does not automatically mean any violation of human rights":

Thus, Axis selling products to PRC police, which represents a very small part of our sales, does not automatically mean any violation of human rights. What matters is how and for what specific purpose they intend to use our solutions. If we make the assessment that the user scenario will be in accordance with our intentions, we can proceed with the project. Otherwise, we can decline. [emphasis added]

PRC police regularly arrest dissidents, journalists, activists, Uyghurs, and human rights lawyers.

The Amnesty report applauded French biometrics provider Idemia for instituting a blanket ban on PRC police sales since 2017.

IPVM inquired about Axis implementing a ban like Idemia's, with Axis responding that it complies with sanctions and "we say no to projects where our technology would be used to violate human rights":

As we have stated in our previous responses, we comply with national and international sanction lists, and we say no to projects where our technology would be used to violate human rights. And when it comes to China, we focus on private, international companies.