Majority of the Dutch House of Representatives wants to ban Chinese cameras from the government

There is a majority in the Dutch House of Representatives to remove Chinese-made security cameras from government buildings and the police as soon as possible. The parties do not want to wait for an announced investigation by the cabinet.

A majority of the House of Representatives wants to get rid of government use of Chinese brands such as Hikvision and Dahua as soon as possible, according to tour of parties by RTL News. The parties are concerned about the risks that would be involved. The cabinet is investigating purchasing requirements for these cameras and the need for safety guidelines, but the parties want to start removing them immediately.

The factions of the VVD, D66, PvdA and PVV, among others, indicate that the government should ban Chinese cameras as soon as possible because of the risks. In February of this year, 10 of 50 municipalities surveyed told NOS to remove or consider removing the Hikvision and Dahua cameras. The House of Representatives has been critical of the use of the cameras for some time, because of concerns about the manufacturers’ ties with the Chinese government and the possibilities for espionage.

Last week, the Ministry of Justice and Security admitted that it is not known how many Chinese cameras are in use at the Dutch government. The police purchased nearly 700 cameras from Dahua last year. These are mainly aimed at traffic control and are planned to remain in use for seven years. “When tendering for the cameras and when using them, the police did not foresee any risks to national security,” writes Minister Yesilgöz-Zegerius of Justice and Security. The government is investigating possible national security risks in the use of cameras ‘from parties from countries with an offensive cyber program towards the Netherlands’, but this only concerns the use of cameras within the national government, which is separate from the police tender.