I would really like to hear from the loyal Hikvision & Dahua dealers how they can support a manufacturer that derives most of its money from the twisted, control freak Chinese regime. I doubt it weighs on their conscience one bit as profit is more important than anything, including but not limited to human rights violations.

While increased press on video surveillance poses more risk for the industry, maybe it is a good thing for Americans to see this so they can think their decisions on what product to choose more carefully. The average consumer has no idea what they are supporting at this point, but each and every article like this on IPVM and WSJ is going to gradually change the perception.

Yikes...we're looking at this in disgust, but we're only another Patriot Act away from having this in some areas of our own country. People make hasty decisions when they're afraid, including consenting to what would normally be unlawful search. Governments are counting on our fear, so it's best not to give in to it.

As a Dahua dealer and former installer of Hikvision products I can explain my outlook on the use of/support for a manufacturer who derives a substantial portion of their income from a control freak regime. First I feel it is important to look at this issue in context. China is by far number one in big brother style surveillance and a major violator of human rights. However where do we rank in the US, the UK, or rest of the “free world”?

In the greater Los Angeles area, where I live, there are multiple cameras at every major intersection, on every freeway, and now even on Law Enforcement drones being used over residential areas. As for violations of human rights, UD2 already mentioned the Patriot Act which allows our government to circumvent many of our Constitutional protections, and in the name of “the war on terror” commit countless unlawful imprisonments, seizures of property, and even torture suspects for information. Is our government tyrannical? No far from it, but it is also far from innocent.

With that in mind partnering with any company who earns a substantial portion of their income from any government agency to me is the same. To that end, I weigh each individual project/company on its own merits. Are they asking us to do anything unlawful or immoral? Are we bystanders to unlawful or immoral acts being committed?

As far as Dahua is concerned in this case I feel the answer to both is no. Even when examining what they are doing for the Chinese government I do not see them involved in any kind of unlawful or immoral activity. I may not like the way the government uses their technology but as a for profit business I cannot fault them for supplying cameras for city wide projects.

Now Hikvision is a different beast as we all know. I do have moral issues with a surveillance company that is a spin off of a governmental spy agency, that is controlled directly by said government, and has shown itself to be dishonest about its own origins and making products with multiple critical vulnerabilities.

For those of us who like to throw around the term “Hikua” for fun, this is really the distinguishing factor for me between the world’s two largest manufacturers. Yes they imitate one another, yes they offer very similar product lines, yes they probably even share/steal/reverse engineer each others tech... as done by leaders in every industry (apple v google, ford v chevy, everyone v tesla) but at the end of the day one of these companies is part of the government regime and the other is a for profit business that is separate from the said regime. Not to mention Dahua has honestly answered for and responded to its mistakes and critics. They are by no means perfect but then again who is?

More China moves that are incomprehensible and against both US and EU law: China Snares Innocent and Guilty Alike to Build World’s Biggest DNA Database:

Many of the ways Chinese police are collecting samples are impermissible in the U.S. In China, DNA saliva swabs or blood samples are routinely gathered from people detained for violations such as forgetting to carry identity cards or writing blogs critical of the state, according to documents from a national police DNA conference in September and official forensic journals.

Others aren’t suspected of any crime. Police target certain groups considered a higher risk to social stability. These include migrant workers and, in one city, coal miners and home renters, the documents show.

Update: Social Media Critic Prisoned for 20 Years

Further showing how repressive China is, How questioning China’s security crackdown in Xinjiang led to a 20-year jail term:

Electronics salesman Zhang Haitao raised on social media whether the massive anti-terrorism campaign in Xinjiang was fuelling resentment among Muslim Uygurs

Court records say Zhang was convicted of sending 274 posts from 2010 to 2015 on Chinese social media sites Weibo and WeChat that “resisted, attacked and smeared” the Communist Party and its policies, earning him 15 years in prison for subversion of state power. He was given another five years for talking to foreign reporters and providing photos of the intense police presence in the streets of Xinjiang.

This is the type of punishment that is impossible and incomprehensible in the EU or the USA but is the norm for China.

Hikvision profitability maybe higher than USA accounts show depending on transfer prices from Hangzhou 

hikvison has very low cost of manufacture 

and im sure they want to keep all those lovely dollars in their chinese coffers

Ignoring the skin-crawling level of Chinese governmental intrusion, the one positive "silver lining" from the WSJ video was that this technology is being heavily used in a large test environment. I believe that element is good for surveillance product development.

Related: China Uses Facial Recognition to Fence In Villagers in Far West

Using facial recognition, when a person of interest ventures further than 300 meters out of the safe area, authorities are notified and can be dispatched to intervene or visit their home to question friends or family.