U.S. Congress bipartisan coalition introduces legislation to combat surveillance of Uyghurs and other groups

A bipartisan coalition of members of the U.S. Congress has re-introduced the draft Foreign Advanced Technology Surveillance Accountability Act. This bipartisan legislation would combat foreign adoption of advanced technology surveillance equipment, such as those used by China against the Uyghurs in Xinjiang. This bipartisan bill would recognize unreasonable or oppressive government surveillance as a human rights abuse. It would also require a report on whether countries have imported or unlawfully obtained biometric or facial recognition data from other countries. According to U.S. Representative John Curtis (R-UT), “the Foreign Advanced Technology Surveillance Accountability Act, brings the State Department’s Annual Report on Human Rights Practices into the 21st century to counter the growing adoption of advanced technology surveillance equipment by foreign governments.”