Amazon reportedly paid nearly $10 million to a blacklisted Chinese company for thermal imaging cameras to monitor employee temperatures
- Amazon reportedly spent nearly $10 million on thermal cameras purchased from a Chinese company blacklisted in the US over to allegations it helped the Chinese government "detain and monitor the Uighurs and other Muslim minorities," Reuters reported on Wednesday morning.
- Amazon is already using thermal imaging in its Whole Foods stores — the technology is intended to remotely monitor employee temperature as a means of preventing coronavirus from spreading.
- Zhejiang Dahua Technology reportedly sold Amazon 1,500 thermal imaging cameras, according to Reuters, 500 of which are intended for use in the United States.
- Despite Dahua's status with the US government, private businesses are legally allowed to purchase goods from blacklisted companies.
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Amazon reportedly purchased 1,500 thermal imaging cameras from a Chinese company that the US has blacklisted due to allegations it helped the Chinese government "detain and monitor the Uighurs and other Muslim minorities," Reuters reported on Wednesday morning.
The cameras are able to remotely monitor temperature in human beings by reading heat signatures. Because fever is a common early symptom of the coronavirus, the technology is being employed as a way to prevent the disease from spreading. Amazon is already implementing similar technology on employees at Whole Foods stores in the US.
Amazon reportedly spent nearly $10 million on the cameras, and 500 of the 1,500 purchased are said to be intended for use in the United States.
Though the company, Zhejiang Dahua Technology, is blacklisted by the US government, sales to private companies aren't illegal. Neither Dahua nor Amazon confirmed the purchase.
In an email exchange with Business Insider, Amazon spokesperson Rena Lunak confirmed that Amazon is implementing "the use of thermal imagers from multiple manufacturers for temperature screening to create a more streamlined experience for our employees." She also pointed out that, "None of this equipment has network connectivity, and no personal identifiable information will be visible, collected, or stored."
Dahua, the Chinese firm blacklisted by the US Department of Commerce, is accused of aiding in the persecution of the Uighur people in Xinjiang, China.
The Uighurs are a Muslim ethnic minority in China, and live under intense surveillance from the Chinese government. More than one million Uighurs are believed to have been sent to "re-education" camps and prisons, where former detainees detail horrific experiences with torture and medical experiments.
Dahua is among more than two dozen companies the United States blacklisted in October 2019. Though commerce with these companies is legal, the US government warns that "transactions of any nature with listed entities carry a 'red flag' and recommends that US companies proceed with caution."
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