{"id":"3200020c-6822-4ccd-b26a-51d8e8b20ff8","slug":"megvii-us-entity-list-2019","kind":"regulatory_action","headline":"U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security adds Megvii to Entity List over Xinjiang surveillance allegations","summary":"On October 9, 2019, the U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security added Megvii to the Entity List, restricting the company's access to U.S.-origin technology. The action cited the use of Megvii's facial recognition technology in the surveillance and persecution of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang. Megvii strongly objected to the designation. Human Rights Watch had earlier reported finding Face++ code in a police surveillance app (IJOP) used in Xinjiang, though it later issued a correction stating Megvii did not appear to have collaborated on the app and the code was inoperable.","occurredAt":"2019-10-09T12:00:00.000Z","reviewStatus":"unreviewed","modelId":null,"deploymentId":null,"companyId":"a9ad6141-9389-4696-853f-cccc64529f28","dataCenterId":null,"aliases":[],"collisionRisk":"none","reviewNote":null,"severity":"serious","rootCauseCategory":null,"rootCauseDetail":null,"affectedUnitsCount":null,"affectedUnitsBasis":null,"remediationStatus":null,"regulatoryAction":"suspension","regulatoryBody":"Bureau of Industry and Security","propertyDamageEstimateUsd":null,"damageEstimateBasis":null,"bodilyInjurySeverity":null,"fatalityCount":null,"lossCostClass":null,"sourceQualityTier":null,"oshaRecordable":null,"oshaCaseNumber":null,"rootCauseDisclosed":null,"publicDisclosureDate":null,"insuranceClaimPublic":null,"formFactor":null,"latitude":null,"longitude":null,"autonomyClass":null,"legalOutcomeClass":"unknown","createdAt":"2026-08-30T22:28:12.751Z","updatedAt":"2026-08-30T22:28:12.751Z","model":null,"deployment":null,"company":{"id":"a9ad6141-9389-4696-853f-cccc64529f28","name":"Megvii","slug":"megvii","description":"Beijing-based AI and computer-vision company best known for its Face++ facial-recognition platform — the world's largest third-party face-authentication service. Founded in 2011 by three Tsinghua University classmates, Megvii was once valued at over US$4 billion and counted Alibaba, Ant Financial, and the Bank of China among its investors. The company has expanded from consumer face-auth into smart-logistics robotics (AMRs for warehousing and supply-chain IoT) and automotive AI. Megvii was added to the U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security Entity List in October 2019 and the Treasury Department's Non-SDN Chinese Military-Industrial Complex list in December 2021 over allegations of complicity in the surveillance of Uyghurs in Xinjiang — allegations the company disputes.","status":"active","founded":2011,"hq":"Beijing, China","hqLat":39.9057136,"hqLng":116.3912972,"hqGeocodedAt":"2026-08-05T14:38:55.299Z","hqAddress":null,"hqPrecision":null,"website":"megvii.com","fundingTotal":null,"type":"brain","roles":[],"reviewStatus":"reviewed","heatIndex":52,"lifecycleState":"active","supersededByCompanyId":null,"sources":[{"url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megvii","title":"Megvii","sourceName":"Wikipedia"},{"url":"https://www.biometricupdate.com/201910/u-s-drops-entity-list-hammer-on-chinese-facial-recognition-unicorns-and-biometrics-providers","title":"Entity List designation","sourceName":"Biometric Update"}],"keyFacts":[{"label":"Focus","value":"AI and computer-vision"},{"label":"Technology","value":"Face++ facial-recognition platform"},{"label":"Scale","value":"One of China's 'Four AI Dragons'"},{"label":"Regulatory","value":"Added to the U.S. BIS Entity List in Oct 2019 over alleged Xinjiang surveillance involvement"},{"label":"Regulatory","value":"Added to the DoD Section 1260H list of Chinese military companies in 2025"},{"label":"CEO","value":"Yin Qi, founder and CEO, AI prodigy, computer vision powerhouse"},{"label":"Revenue","value":"AI software licensing (facial recognition, computer vision), $1B+ valuation, Beijing China"},{"label":"Financial stage","value":"Growth (one of four Chinese AI tiger startups, $1B+ valuation, state-owned enterprise customers, AI software licensing)"}],"aliases":["Megvii Technology","Face++","Beijing Kuangshi Technology","旷视科技"],"collisionRisk":"low","reviewNote":null,"atsProvider":null,"atsSlug":null,"factoryLocations":null,"manufacturingCapacity":null,"orgType":null,"burnSignal":null,"litigationEvents":null,"insurancePostureDisclosed":null,"unitEconomicsDisclosed":null,"tickerSymbol":null,"stockExchange":null,"secCik":null,"revenueUsd":"1000000000","revenueBasis":"reported","revenueAsOf":null,"employeeCount":2349,"employeeCountBasis":null,"employeeCountAsOf":null,"marketCapUsd":null,"marketCapAsOf":null,"marketCapSource":null,"createdAt":"2026-06-25T18:39:56.864Z","updatedAt":"2026-08-30T22:24:52.736Z"},"derived":{"status":"active"},"sources":[{"id":"bc5018f9-d923-4dd4-aa6d-42d0f8f0a569","incidentId":"3200020c-6822-4ccd-b26a-51d8e8b20ff8","url":"https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ryanmac/trump-us-blacklist-megvii-sensetime-yitu-xinjiang","label":"BuzzFeed News","publishedAt":"2019-10-09T00:00:00.000Z","notes":null,"title":null,"sourceName":"BuzzFeed News","mediaType":"article","videoId":null,"channel":null,"durationSec":null,"timestampSec":null,"createdAt":"2026-08-30T22:28:12.751Z","updatedAt":"2026-08-30T22:28:12.751Z"},{"id":"c3a61794-bdd1-4e50-a185-648680b20384","incidentId":"3200020c-6822-4ccd-b26a-51d8e8b20ff8","url":"https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2019/10/09/2019-22210/addition-of-certain-entities-to-the-entity-list","label":"U.S. Federal Register","publishedAt":"2019-10-09T00:00:00.000Z","notes":null,"title":null,"sourceName":"U.S. Federal Register","mediaType":"article","videoId":null,"channel":null,"durationSec":null,"timestampSec":null,"createdAt":"2026-08-30T22:28:12.751Z","updatedAt":"2026-08-30T22:28:12.751Z"}],"responses":[],"statusEvents":[{"id":"dc246a00-40da-4820-815f-b3f1d76e0423","incidentId":"3200020c-6822-4ccd-b26a-51d8e8b20ff8","status":"active","reason":null,"source":"agent:recon","effectiveAt":"2026-08-30T22:28:14.027Z","createdAt":"2026-08-30T22:28:14.027Z"}],"jsonLd":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://registry.deploy.report/incidents/megvii-us-entity-list-2019","url":"https://registry.deploy.report/incidents/megvii-us-entity-list-2019","headline":"U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security adds Megvii to Entity List over Xinjiang surveillance allegations","description":"On October 9, 2019, the U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security added Megvii to the Entity List, restricting the company's access to U.S.-origin technology. The action cited the use of Megvii's facial recognition technology in the surveillance and persecution of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang. Megvii strongly objected to the designation. Human Rights Watch had earlier reported finding Face++ code in a police surveillance app (IJOP) used in Xinjiang, though it later issued a correction stating Megvii did not appear to have collaborated on the app and the code was inoperable.","identifier":"3200020c-6822-4ccd-b26a-51d8e8b20ff8","datePublished":"2019-10-09T12:00:00.000Z","articleSection":"regulatory action","publisher":{"@id":"https://deploy.report/#organization"},"author":{"@id":"https://deploy.report/#organization"}},"framework_metadata":{"framework_schema_version":"0.1.0","verification_status":"unreviewed","maturity_stage":null,"lifecycle_state":null,"architectural_position":{"cohort":null,"sub_cohorts":[]},"within_cohort_verified_vs_claimed_pair":null,"cap_flags":[],"verification_depth":{"sources_count":2,"primary_source_types":[]}}}