Intel and Nvidia questioned over sale of tech to China used against Uygurs
- US lawmakers asked whether executives knew their chips would be used to support surveillance activities and if they took steps against human rights abuses
Republican Senator Marco Rubio and Democratic congressman Jim McGovern on Tuesday sent letters to Intel Corp and Nvidia Corp seeking information on the sale of advanced computer chips allegedly used by China to conduct mass surveillance on Uygurs in the country’s remote Xinjiang region.
Rubio is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee which oversees human rights, and McGovern chairs the Congressional-Executive Commission on China.
The letters were sent to the chief executives of the companies, who were asked to respond to questions about their exports to China.
The executives were also asked whether they knew their technology would be used to support surveillance activities conducted by China’s police forces and whether they took steps to ensure their products were not used for human rights abuses or to compromise US national security.
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Satellite images show China has bulldozed Uygur burial sites in Xinjiang
Nvidia declined to comment. Intel spokesman William Moss said the company does not tolerate its products being used to violate human rights and when the company becomes aware of such a concern it ceases or restricts business with third parties until it has confidence its products are not used to commit such violations.
The United Nations has previously estimated that more than a million Muslims have been detained in camps in the Xinjiang region.
The US State Department has accused Chinese officials of subjecting Uygur Muslims to torture, abuse “and trying to basically erase their culture and their religion”.
Earlier this year, US President Donald Trump signed legislation calling for sanctions over the repression of China’s Uygurs.