In a statement, Huawei said: “Huawei provides technology to support smart city and safe city programs across the world. In a rare interview last year at Senain’s headquarters in a bunker outside Quito, its leader at the time, Jorge Costa, confirmed that the domestic intelligence group had access to a mirror of the Chinese-built surveillance system. The irony is that ECU-911 has not been effective at stopping crime, many Ecuadoreans said, though the system’s installation paralleled a period of falling crime rates. Still, the police have built public support, partly by releasing clips on Twitter and television of thieves and muggers caught on camera. Left to choose between privacy and safety, many Ecuadoreans opt for the unblinking gaze of the electronic eyes.

Source: New York Times April 24, 2019 09:01 UTC