A new report by the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee is issuing a stark warning. The report, commissioned by Sen. Robert Menendez, the senior Democrat on the Committee, warns that the “United States is now on the precipice of losing the future of the cyber domain to China.”
Imagine China’s digital repression extended to the global internet. The idea should send chills down everyone’s spines.
According to the Washington Post, the report describes how China has invested in technology that aids authoritarianism, such as facial recognition software and other surveillance technology.
I have written about this previously, calling the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) a “High-Tech Surveillance State.” Using language surprisingly similar to that from my in-depth 2019 report in Bitter Winter, China’s High-Tech Surveillance State: A “Digital Despotism,” The Post notes how the Senate report describes the CCP’s expanding and draconian digital surveillance.
The Chinese regime is expanding its surveillance “to include the collection of DNA samples, fingerprints, voice samples and blood types in particular from those in the western Xinjiang region…”
In my report, I quoted James Andrew Lewis, at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) saying, “[China has] adopted the most pervasive surveillance system in the world…It’s the combination of big data, facial recognition, and pervasive surveillance that’s made it the most intrusive thing that anyone has ever seen.”
However, the current fear is how China is exporting its repressive technology and authoritarian model worldwide.
Specifically, the Senate reports states, according to The Post, “If China continues to perfect the tools of digital authoritarianism and is able to effectively implement them both domestically and abroad, then China, not the United States and its allies, will shape the digital environment.”
Most recently, the Post adds, “Beijing passed new national security laws in Hong Kong, which could potentially see the extension of the Chinese surveillance state into one of the freest Internet landscapes in the world.” This has shaken even some of the West’s tech giants, such as Google, Twitter, and Facebook, who critics claim have been far too cozy with the CCP.
What should be done?
Among the recommendations made by the Senate report, according to The Post, is that the U.S. “should aggressively develop alternatives to Chinese 5G technology along with its allies…and create an industry consortium on 5G.” The United States should also actively support NGOs and think tanks worldwide that are fighting to counter-surveillance regimes, says the report.
It is great to see the U.S. Senate highlighting this serious global concern, and as Senator Menendez notes, “There has been a sharp increase in bipartisan interest for Congress to recalibrate our nation’s entire China policy.”
The U.S. should use this new evolving bi-partisan consensus to develop and implement a comprehensive national strategy to counter China’s growing threat to the U.S. and to global freedom.
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thats because we have people in the united states helping them and when we find them we need to put them in prison with no phone calls are visitors at all
When oh when are we here in the USA going get smart and deal with these disgusting anti USA world freedom ‘commie’ bastards like we should have been doing for years with an iron fist? Really just what more needs to happen before we send these subhumans back to the stone age. Bring the jobs and technology back to America these thieving cretins stole over the years. And absolutely no more chinese exchange students in American colleges as they’re all spies. And this shall include no more chinese nationals as tourists. Time to screw china into the ground and shun them just like we’ve been doing with north korea and Iran. So far little problems from these pariahs. The chinese are no friends of the USA, never were friends of the USA and never will be friends of the USA and for the most part, world freedom.
Death penalty that is Treason that way our tax money not used to take care of Traitors, that includes socialist communist atheists muslim politicians, they are doing the same pelosi has been to China just before this virus came, gates,soros, obama, bloomberg, all have a stake in the laboratory’s in China, all these millionaires billionaires need investigated immediately and not by Barr or durum, don’t trust ether one they keep protecting these vile politicians judges
Apple must be ready to open gate to internet sans servers! Just encrypted data from you to Satellite. China can keep its hold over all seven billion people on Earth, if they choose to surrender.
We will need to return to frontier approach too. Affordable home and food anywhere is coming for couples to survive. Of course, those in cities will need bigger incomes and harder work for more hours. But, that is what Freedom permits!
This is the only constructive thing I’ve Heard coming from a democrat for ever. Something that helps the country instead of tearing it down
Because Dems block any means to deter China in any form legally, & we need to move our production OUT of China ASAP.
A-Z products.
Or charge China higher fees etc.
More can be done BUT Google, MS, FB aid CCP control of Internet.
& DC politics also aid CCP
Stop all dealing and pull all businesses out of China and bring them all back to the US! China is our ENEMY and always will be! Wake up folks!
All spot on comments!
You know darn well what I wrote what you a leftist communist communist