- Geopolitics, not only technology, is silently rewriting who can sell cameras in western markets
- Hikvision says it is unfair, but the closure shows that trust is no longer automatic for Chinese companies
- The company denies irregularities, but surveillance fears are now enough to end complete commercial operations
Canada has ordered the Chinese Hikvision surveillance giant to cease its operations in the country, citing national security concerns.
The prohibition follows a formal review carried out under the investment law in Canada and marks a movement against foreign technology companies.
“The Government has determined that the continuous operations of Hikvision Canada Inc. in Canada would be harmful to the National Security of Canada,” said Industry Minister Mélanie Joly.
International and growing suspicion pressure
Hikvision, one of the world’s largest producers in the world, has operated in Canada since 2014.
However, their expansive global reach and their links with projects linked to the State in China have long worried Western countries.
Although the government has not made public the specific reasons behind its decision, it has declared that intelligence and security evaluations have played a central role.
This silence is probable to speculation, as in previous repressions in Huawei, where classified intelligence was used to justify broad commercial restrictions.
The comparison with Huawei is not unjustified. Hikvision is now under the same type of scrutiny that led to the expulsion of Huawei of 5G infrastructure projects in the Five Eyes nations.
The United States, the United Kingdom and Australia have already taken measures against Hikvision, particularly by statements that their cameras have been used to examine Uyghur Muslims in the Xinjiang region of China, the accusations that Beijing denies.
The FBI also warned about malware aimed at web cameras, and the western world often believes that the Chinese IoT is possibly more dangerous than Tiktok, which is considered Spyware.
As expected, Hikvision “totally disagree” with Canada’s decision, saying: “We believe that it lacks a factual base, procedural justice and transparency,” the company states that the measure seems to be driven by the country of origin of the parent company. “
With the geopolitical tensions that continue to define much of the West approach to Chinese companies, decisions such as the risk of Canada that looks less as technology -based judgments and more as a political position.
Hikvision said he fully cooperated with the authorities and presented all the requested documents, but this did not alter the result.
It is not clear how many public buildings in Canada they still use Hikvision devices, but Joly has committed to review and eliminate any remaining equipment.
“I urge Canadians to make note of this decision and make their own decisions accordingly,” he warned.
The Canadian government seems to focus on surveillance risks, and this questions the reliability of intelligent devices, such as web cameras or parents control solutions.
As more homes and workplaces adopt smart cameras and monitoring tools, the line between convenience and intrusion becomes thinner.
If the prohibitions become more common, suppliers may need to prove more than just the force of characteristics to remain competitive.
Whether you select a domestic monitoring system or look for the best antivirus software, hardware policy and software is becoming more difficult to ignore.
Through economic times
