Taylor Owen: China’s dystopian digital future threatens us all – By Taylor Owen (National Post) / Aug 7 2021
The dystopia of the Chinese surveillance state should serve as a wake-up call for democratic reforms
While much of the current debate about technology and democracy rightly focuses on Silicon Valley, the reality is that there is a parallel communications-technology infrastructure that presents far greater concern. Over the past 30 years, aided by and enmeshed in the state, Chinese companies have built a full stack of technologies — including communications infrastructure, hardware and platforms — that compete directly with Western internet companies.
These companies provide many of the same capabilities and services that their Western counterparts do — access to the internet, social media, chat, mobile payments and online shopping — but in a manner that is far more co-ordinated, allows the government access to the data collected and enables an additional layer of centralized surveillance and social control. These tools have been used to monitor and share information on the behaviour of Chinese citizens — and, increasingly, citizens of other countries who have adopted the Chinese approach.
As someone who is concerned about the power and accountability of Big Tech, the question of China looms large. All of the problems arising from the flawed design or use of Google, Apple, Amazon and Facebook (the data surveillance, threats to democracy and lack of competition) are all far worse when it comes to Chinese companies. The challenge is that understanding Chinese technology and its role in both domestic and international affairs is immensely difficult. There are barriers of language and culture, real limitations on the free flow of information and limited academic research.
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