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The massive anti-government protests across Iran have put a spotlight back on Chinese surveillance technology, which activists say is aiding authorities in a deadly crackdown.
Among China's exporters is Tiandy Digital Technology Co., whose role has sparked fresh calls in Washington for stronger action against the Tianjin-based company.
Newsweek has contacted Tiandy and the Chinese Embassy in Tehran for comment by email.
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Why It Matters
China has emerged as the world's leader in mass surveillance. Leveraging artificial intelligence and Big Data, the Communist Party-led government monitors 1.4 billion citizens and clamps down on regions seen as flash points for dissent, including Tibet and the Muslim-majority Xinjiang.
That domestic model is now being exported. China has become the top supplier of surveillance technology worldwide, with critics accusing Beijing of helping authoritarian governments—such as those in Iran and Pakistan—suppress opposition.
What To Know
Tiandy surveillance systems have strengthened efforts by Iranian security services to identify protesters during the current and past waves of protests, according to Craig Singleton, a Stanford professor and senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank in Washington, D.C.
"This isn't rogue use. It's a Chinese company exporting repression as a service," Singleton wrote on X on Tuesday.
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The Tianjin-based company was among dozens of Chinese firms added to an export control blacklist in 2022. Tiandy's website advertises products such as real-time recording systems and "interrogation chairs." The firm has also allegedly supplied Iran's military, police and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps with equipment—including network video recorders—according to IPVM, a Pennsylvania-based security and surveillance industry research group citing sources.
Singleton has urged U.S. authorities to target Tiandy for human rights violations, cut the company off from American supply chains and add it to the Federal Communications Commission's Covered List, which bans certain foreign telecom and surveillance equipment from U.S. networks.
In December 2022, the Biden administration placed Tiandy and 35 other Chinese entities on the Commerce Department's Entity List for activities deemed contrary to U.S. national security and foreign policy.
At least 2,571 people have been killed in the latest wave of protests in Iran, according to estimates by the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, including 2,403 protesters and 147 government-affiliated persons.
What People Are Saying
Volker Türk, the United Nations' human rights chief, said in a Tuesday statement: "It is also extremely worrying to see public statements by some judicial officials indicating the possibility of the death penalty being used against protesters through expedited judicial proceedings."
Tiandy said on its website: "Tiandy delivers intelligent, efficient, and secure security solutions worldwide through technological innovation and precision manufacturing."
What Happens Next
It remains unclear whether U.S. officials will push to increase penalties on Tiandy or other Chinese surveillance companies.
The death toll in Iran is expected to continue to rise, with videos circulating on social media showing rows of bodies.
U.S. President Donald Trump, who in June ordered strikes on Iranian nuclear enrichment, research and power facilities in a bid to prevent the country from obtaining the capability to develop nuclear weapons, has threatened to take "very strong action" if Iran executes protesters and has called for the dismantling of the government.
Iranian officials have threatened to attack American bases in the region in the event of U.S. intervention.
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