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takyon [soylentnews.org] writes:

U.S. Cracks Down on Firms Said to Aid China's Repression of Minorities [nytimes.com]

The Biden administration said on Thursday that it would put limits on doing business with a group of Chinese companies and institutions it says are involved in misusing biotechnology to surveil and repress Muslim minorities in China and advancing Beijing's military programs.

In announcing one set of the moves, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said China was employing biotechnology and medical innovation "to pursue control over its people and its repression of members of ethnic and religious minority groups."

The administration said those efforts included the use of biometric facial recognition and large-scale genetic testing of residents 12 to 65 in the mostly Muslim region of Xinjiang.

China has used such technology [nytimes.com] to track and control the Uyghurs, a predominately Muslim ethnic group.

[...] In its announcement on Thursday, the Biden administration said Beijing was using advances in biotechnology to drive forward its military modernization. A senior administration official called out China's work to edit human genes for performance enhancement and create ways for human brains to connect more directly to machines.

Also caught in the crosshairs is the drone company DJI, for providing drones used by the Xinjiang Public Security Bureau to surveil Uyghurs [theverge.com], Megvii [reuters.com], which makes artificial intelligence and facial recognition software, and Dawning Information Industry, a manufacturer of supercomputers and provider of cloud-computing services.

See also: Disney under fire for 'Mulan' credits that thank Chinese groups linked to detention camps [cnbc.com]

Previously: Massive DNA Collection Campaign in Xinjiang, China [soylentnews.org]
Massive DNA Collection Campaign Continues in Xinjiang, China [soylentnews.org]
China Installs Surveillance App on Smartphones of Visitors to Xinjiang Region [soylentnews.org]
DNA Databases in the U.S. and China are Tools of Racial Oppression [soylentnews.org]
The Panopticon is Already Here: China's Use of "Artificial Intelligence" [soylentnews.org]

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