IPVM

IPVM
Type of businessCorporation
Type of site
Investigative journalism, technology journalism
Available inEnglish
Founded2008; 16 years ago (2008)
HeadquartersBethlehem, Pennsylvania,
United States
Country of originUnited States
Area servedWorldwide
Founder(s)John Honovich
PresidentJohn Honovich
CEOJohn Honovich
IndustryClosed-circuit television, access control
ServicesProduct testing
ParentIP Video Market Info Inc.
URLipvm.com
AdvertisingNo
CommercialYes
RegistrationOptional
Launched2008
Current statusLive
[1][2][3]

Internet Protocol Video Market (IPVM) is a security and surveillance industry research group and trade publication based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania that focuses on reviewing and reporting on video-surveillance technology.[1][4][5][6]

IPVM was launched in 2008 out of Hawaii, when founder John Honovich had left the surveillance industry after becoming disillusioned with what he described as "overstated marketing claims" that pervaded the industry.[5][6] Soon after launching, IPVM's headquarters moved to Pennsylvania, where most of its employees were living.[5] The website began as a news aggregator, though the company would grow to produce original investigations and conduct its own reviews of surveillance equipment. Throughout most of its history, the publication's readership and reach has been specific to the surveillance industry.[6]

IPVM gained broader recognition in 2020 and 2021 for its investigative reporting revealing how PRC-based technology firms Alibaba,[4][7][8] Dahua Technology,[9][10] Huawei[9][11][12] and Megvii[9][10] filed patents for face detection technology designed to target Uyghurs. The company's investigations on surveillance equipment used in China have been widely cited by major newspapers in the United States, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and The Washington Post.[6] Its reports have drawn the ire of Chinese video surveillance equipment company Hikvision, whom IPVM revealed to have been providing surveillance equipment and technology key in the mass internment of ethnic minorities in Xinjiang.[13] China has been critical of the company, blocking the company's website within Great Firewall,[6] while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China has denied the validity of IPVM's work relating to Huawei, claiming it was "slander".[14] In 2023 and 2024, respectively, IPVM reporting was cited by the U.S. Department of State in its Xinjiang 2022 International Religious Freedom Report and by the Select Committee on the CCP in a report on how U.S. venture capital aids the Chinese Communist Party.[15][16]

Unlike many trade publications focused on the surveillance industry, IPVM does not accept advertising from manufacturers of surveillance technology, owing to its founder's concern around the potential for advertisers to affect the publication's editorial independence.[6] Instead, the privately-owned website runs on a subscription-based model; as of January 2020, IPVM said that it maintained over 10,000 subscribers.[5]

  1. ^ a b Salamone, Anthony (2020-01-02). "Who's watching those who monitor us with video surveillance? A Lehigh Valley company, that's who". The Morning Call. Retrieved 2021-10-19.
  2. ^ "Privacy Policy". IPVM. 2021-08-25. Retrieved 2021-10-26. Company (referred to as either "the Company", "We", "Us" or "Our" in this Agreement) refers to IP Video Market Info Inc., 3713 Linden St, Bethlehem, PA 18020.
  3. ^ "IP VIDEO MARKET INFO INC". Hawaii Business Express. Business Registration Division, Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs. Retrieved 2021-11-02. HONOVICH, JOHN CEO/P/D
  4. ^ a b "Alibaba says its technology won't target Uighurs". BBC. 2020-12-18. Retrieved 2021-10-19.
  5. ^ a b c d Salamone, Anthony (2 January 2022). "Who's watching those who monitor us with video surveillance? A Lehigh Valley company, that's who". The Morning Call.
  6. ^ a b c d e f McLaughlin, Timothy (29 September 2022). "The Tech Site That Took On China's Surveillance State". The Atlantic.
  7. ^ Zhong, Raymond (2020-12-16). "As China Tracked Muslims, Alibaba Showed Customers How They Could, Too". The New York Times. Retrieved 2021-10-24.
  8. ^ Davidson, Helen (2020-12-17). "Alibaba offered clients facial recognition to identify Uighur people, report reveals". The Guardian. Taipei. Retrieved 2021-10-24.
  9. ^ a b c Kelion, Leo (2021-01-13). "Huawei patent mentions use of Uighur-spotting tech". BBC. Retrieved 2021-10-24.
  10. ^ a b Asher-Schapiro, Avi (2021-01-21). "Chinese companies patent Uighur-spotting tech". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 2021-10-21.
  11. ^ Dou, Eva; Harwell, Drew (2020-12-12). "Huawei worked on several surveillance systems promoted to identify ethnicity, documents show". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2021-10-24.
  12. ^ Kharpal, Arjun (2021-01-14). "China A.I. firms and Huawei filed to patent technology that could identify Uighur Muslims, report says". CNBC. Guangzhou, China. Retrieved 2021-10-24.
  13. ^ Marlay, Lachan (3 January 2022). "Scoop: Chinese surveillance firm ramps up fight against regulators". Axios.
  14. ^ Dunleavy, Jerry (23 June 2021). "Hunter Biden holds stake in Chinese firm that invested in companies sanctioned by US". Washington Examiner.
  15. ^ United States Department of State • Office of International Religious Freedom, XINJIANG 2022 INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM REPORT (PDF), p. 26
  16. ^ THE SELECT COMMITTEE ON THE STRATEGIC COMPETITION BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND THE CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY, THE CCP'S INVESTORS: How American Venture Capital Fuels the PRC Military and Human Rights Abuses (PDF)