The municipality of Amsterdam will remove more than 1,200 Chinese-made cameras from the city over concerns about spying and human rights. Alderman Alexander Schulz (ICT and Digital City) reported this in a letter to the municipal council.

In 2022, research by NOS showed that Chinese cameras of the Hikvision and Dahua brands were installed in more than fifty Dutch municipalities. The cameras are affordable and of good quality, but there are concerns about spying and human rights abuses by manufacturers.

The intelligence service AIVD has previously warned that China has an “offensive cyber programme” targeting the Netherlands.

Some cameras are located near “sensitive” buildings such as police stations and ministry buildings. As a result of this investigation, several municipalities decided to use Chinese cameras To replace.

According to what was reported by Al-Madina Radio AT5 Amsterdam City Council has also wanted to get rid of the cameras for years. So Suleiman Al-Aslami of D66 put forward a proposal last year. He called for a major investigation into the problems caused by Chinese devices. A large part of the Council supported the proposal.

With this modification, Schulz says he wants to send “a strong signal to the market to find alternatives to Chinese camera systems.” Cameras in Amsterdam will be removed within five years. Faster is not possible because “replacing all Chinese cameras in the meantime results in high additional costs.”

Amsterdam D66 He is happy With the decision.