World Cup winner Antoine Griezmann reveals he is ending his sponsorship deal with Huawei after reports claiming that the Chinese telecoms firm was involved in the surveillance of Muslim Uighurs.
A report that surfaced recently alleged Huawei had tested facial recognition software that could help police detect Uighurs.
However, Huawei has denied the claims vehemently and said it was “saddened” by Griezmann’s decision.
China has faced a barrage of criticism over its treatment of the minority with reports suggesting that the Chinese government has detained up to a million Uighurs in Xinjiang province in what the state defines as “re-education camps”.
Griezmann has been with Huawei since 2017 serving as a brand ambassador and has featured prominently in the company’s advertising in France.
“Following strong suspicions that Huawei has contributed to the development of a ‘Uighurs alert’ through the use of facial recognition software, I am immediately ending my partnership with the company,” he said on Instagram.
In a report which made the rounds on Tuesday, US-based surveillance research firm IPVM said Huawei had been involved in testing facial recognition software in China that the authorities could use to detect Uighurs.
IPVM claims it had obtained documents that allegedly showed Huawei tested the software by Chinese firm Megvii in its video cloud system in 2018.
Megvii is known for its facial recognition algorithms.
A Huawei spokesperson said that “the language used in the document” referred to in the report was “completely unacceptable“.
“It is not compatible with the values of Huawei. Our technologies are not designed to identify ethnic groups. Non-discrimination is at the heart of our values as a company.”
The spokesperson also commented on the Griezmann post saying: “Huawei is obviously saddened by the decision of Mr. Griezmann to end his relationship with the company.
“We would like to extend an invitation to speak to him personally, to explain the work that is currently being done at the highest level, inside the company, to address the issues of human rights, equality, and discrimination at all levels, and to reassure him, and all our customers and partners, that Huawei takes these concerns very seriously.”
I will miss him