Civic IDEA is sharing a new research report based on a detailed analysis of Georgia’s public procurement records from 2025 through March 2026. Our findings show that Chinese-made surveillance systems and digital devices are being systematically integrated into Georgia’s state infrastructure — from municipal city halls to military educational institutions.
Key findings:
- 23 public procurements involving Chinese-made surveillance equipment and digital devices were identified between 2025 and March 2026.
- The largest spenders: Kutaisi Municipality City Hall (GEL 6,600,795), the NNLE Department of Urban Infrastructure and Improvement (GEL 1,972,300), and the National Assessment and Examinations Center (GEL 340,933).
- Among the manufacturers integrated into Georgian state infrastructure are internationally sanctioned companies: Hikvision, Uniview, Tiandy, DJI, and Autel Robotics — all of which appear on the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Entity List.
- According to CISA and the FBI, Chinese technologies embedded in critical infrastructure create the risk of covert access to sensitive data by the Chinese government.
- Chinese law legally obliges companies to cooperate with state intelligence services — this is not a choice, it is a statutory requirement.
- Freedom House describes this process as the export of “digital authoritarianism.” The Atlantic Council calls it the global expansion of a “surveillance ecosystem.”
The integration of Chinese surveillance and digital technologies into state infrastructure is not merely a technical or economic choice — it is a strategic political decision with direct implications for national security, data protection, and democratic development.
