May 2, 2024 at 03:04AM
Chinese tech companies embedded in global digital supply chains aid Beijing in executing its propaganda strategy by harvesting user data and leveraging investments in popular apps and platforms to shape global public opinion. The Australian think tank notes that Beijing also invests in emerging tech to enhance its narrative control. Recommendations include industry scrutiny of digital supply chains and standardization of data storage.
From the meeting notes, the key takeaways are as follows:
– Chinese tech companies play a crucial role in Beijing’s execution and refinement of its propaganda strategy, with the Chinese Communist Party seeking to harvest user data from globally popular Chinese apps, games, and online platforms to gauge public opinion, societal trends, and preferences for the purpose of improving its propaganda efforts.
– The report by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) highlights the links between the CCP, state-owned or controlled propaganda entities, and their data-collection activities, as well as the investments in Chinese businesses that enable CCP to access data due to unique data storage laws.
– Globally recognized Chinese tech brands such as Didi Chuxing and Temu provide Beijing with insights into consumer habits, societal characteristics of nations, and decision-making processes, making them a foundational layer for the future of information and data exchange worldwide.
– Beijing is also investing in emerging tech, including generative AI, mobile gaming, and immersive technologies, to establish and maintain control over China’s desired narrative and seek greater control over the global information ecosystem.
– The report suggests that governments pressure technology industry players to examine their digital supply chains, define machine learning and cloud data as surveillance or dual-use goods, and establish standardization of data storage to reduce authoritarian regimes’ opportunities to collect, use, and misuse data in ways that harm ethnic communities and silence dissent in the global information environment.
Overall, the meeting notes provide valuable insights into how Chinese tech companies are utilized by Beijing for propaganda purposes, as well as the potential global implications of China’s increasing investment in key information technologies.