Amazon has bought cameras from a firm blacklisted by the United States for use during the coronavirus pandemic, Reuters reported on Wednesday citing three people familiar with the matter.
The cameras, from China's Zhejiang Dahua Technology Co Ltd, will be used to take temperatures of workers during the pandemic, the report said, adding 1,500 cameras have been shipped to Amazon this month in a deal valued close to $10 million
At least 500 systems from Dahua - the blacklisted firm - are for Amazon's use in the United States, another person said.
Despite being blacklisted by the US, the Amazon procurement is legal because the rules control US government contract awards and exports to blacklisted firms, but they do not stop sales to the private sector.
However, the United States "considers that transactions of any nature with listed entities carry a 'red flag' and recommends that US companies proceed with caution," according to the Bureau of Industry and Security's website. Dahua has disputed the designation.
This comes as the US Food and Drug Administration warned of a shortage of temperature-reading devices and said it wouldn't halt certain pandemic uses of thermal cameras that lack the agency's regulatory approval.
Top US-based maker FLIR Systems Inc (FLIR.O) has faced an up to weeks-long order backlog, forcing it to prioritize products for hospitals and other critical facilities.
Amazon declined to confirm its purchase from Dahua, but said its hardware complied with national, state and local law, according to the report. Amazon also said that its temperature checks were to "support the health and safety of our employees, who continue to provide a critical service in our communities."
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