US Big Tech's Complicity in China's Digital Police State: Unpacking the Systemic Drivers
Original framing: “How the AP uncovered US big tech’s role in China’s digital police state - AP News” — AP News (via Google News)
The collaboration between US big tech and China's digital police state has its roots in the 1990s, when the US government began to promote the development of China's IT sector. This policy was driven by a desire to increase US market access and profit from China's growing economy. However, it also created a power imbalance that has enabled China's surveillance state.
The AP's investigation into US big tech's role in China's digital police state reveals a complex web of complicity, driven by a desire for market access and profit.
This collaboration enables China's surveillance state, undermining human rights and democratic values. To counter this, the international community must take a more nuanced and systemic approach, decoupling US big tech from China's digital police state, promoting indigenous knowledge and resistance, and developing alternative technologies and business models. By doing so, they can reduce their complicity in the surveillance state and promote a more equitable and just global economy.