Surveillance & Control – The Future of National Governance
Austin Sanders | June 23, 2022
Global powers are pursuing contrasting data privacy laws and regulations. Will
government surveillance and control be the new norm worldwide?
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) demonstrates an apparent lack of trust or care for its citizens. With artificial intelligence systems and data collection
methods incorporated into every part of society, the CCP monitors every text
message, web search, and purchase made legally within their borders.[1] While the internet should facilitate the spread of ideas and knowledge throughout the world, the CCP installed the “Great Firewall” to suppress and control their
population.[2] Government officials argue that it’s in the nation’s best interest
to remain united in their journey to return to the top of the global order. In
the process, the CCP has created a social credit system to track people’s
behavior and encourage habits and actions that align with the CCP’s established norm.[3] The developing and underdeveloped world stands vulnerable as the CCP governance and control philosophy spreads across the globe undermining
democracy.
China’s “Great Firewall” is a threat to democratic principles.[2]
Business Insider describes the Chinese social credit system as a way to rank its population. Chinese AI and technology systems track citizens’ behavior and score their actions based on subjective rules. Bad driving or posting the wrong news article online will hurt an individual’s score. Low social credit scores will result in punishments ranging from low-internet speed to the inability to use public transportation.[3] A social check and balances system is a dangerous and slippery slope. Who makes the rules for what is socially acceptable? Humanity should fight against this type of data hoarding and manipulation by national governments.
Chinese companies are at the forefront of the technological revolution.
As China produces surveillance technology, cell towers, and cloud-based
infrastructure worldwide, there is a growing concern that countries will follow
a similar censorship model to China.[4] China’s substantial growth over the last
thirty years can be attributed to the period of relative peace at home and
abroad. Developing countries with authoritarian leaders will view the
“Great Firewall” and social credit system as a means to maintain control and
facilitate growth and development.[4] While this reads well on paper, this comes at high costs to fundamental human rights. Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang,
pro-democratic leaders in Hong Kong, and Buddhists in Tibet have borne the brunt of atrocious human rights abuses in China’s surveillance state.[5] Government control over digital communications allows the CCP to track and arrest people whose lifestyle does not align with what the CCP envisions for the Chinese people. With such a diverse population, this method of governance is not only inappropriate for China; it would be a problematic system to implement in most countries worldwide.
Given China’s lack of domestic data privacy laws and tight control over the
Chinese tech giants, there is reason to believe that the companies open up
backdoors to access data from foreign countries. This has led Western
governments to stray away from Chinese technology companies.[6] However, countries trying to develop their digital infrastructure often have no other options. Relying on Chinese technology is essential to domestic growth but leaves their government and citizens vulnerable to Chinese surveillance.[4]
Ecuador’s surveillance system installed by Chinese tech companies.[4]
As global powers continue to diverge in their data privacy laws, getting
developing and underdeveloped countries on board with similar governance norms as the United States and the European Union is essential. Authoritarian
governments will likely side with the CCP and seek out Chinese technologies to monitor their citizens and maintain a stronghold on control. This is detrimental to the democratic global order and will stymie human ideas and development. Going head-to-head with the CCP is challenging and will inevitably cause uncomfortable interactions at the international table. However, the United States must partner with the EU to spread ethical technology and data governance principles worldwide to promote a world that encourages freedom of speech and expression.[4] No one wants to live in a world where they might go to jail for sending a text message professing their religious beliefs.
References
1. Yang J. WeChat Becomes a Powerful Surveillance Tool Everywhere in China.
Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/wechat-becomes-a-powerful-surveillance-tool-everywhere-in-china-11608633003. Published December 22, 2020. Accessed June 24, 2022.
2. Wang Y. In China, the ‘Great Firewall’ Is Changing a Generation. POLITICO.
Published September 1, 2020. Accessed June 24, 2022. https://www.politico.com/ news/magazine/2020/09/01/china-great-firewall-generation-405385
3. Canales K. China’s “social credit” system ranks citizens and punishes them
with throttled internet speeds and flight bans if the Communist Party deems them untrustworthy. Business Insider. Published December 25, 2021. Accessed June 24, 2022. https://www.businessinsider.com/china-social-credit-system-punishments-
and-rewards-explained-2018-4
4. International Republican Institute. Chinese Malign Influence and the
Corrosion of Democracy. Published online 2019.
5. Human Rights Watch. China: Events of 2021. In: English. ; 2021. Accessed
June 24, 2022. https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2022/country-chapters/china- and-tibet
6. Triolo RG Paul. Will China Control the Global Internet Via its Digital Silk
Road? Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Published May 8, 2020.
Accessed June 24, 2022. https://carnegieendowment.org/2020/05/08/will-china-control-global-internet-via-its-digital-silk-road-pub-81857