Chinese-Style 'Digital Authoritarianism' Grows Globally

Totalitarians everywhere are ahankerin' for some-o-that.

From France24, Nov 1:

Governments worldwide are stepping upwards purpose of online tools, inwards many cases inspired yesteryear China's model, to suppress dissent as well as tighten their travelling pocket on power, a human rights watchdog study establish Thursday.

The annual Freedom House study of 65 countries establish global cyberspace liberty declined for the 8th consecutive yr inwards 2018, among a ascent inwards what the grouping called "digital authoritarianism."

The Freedom on the Net 2018 written report establish online propaganda as well as disinformation accept increasingly "poisoned" the digital space, spell the unbridled collection of personal information is infringing on privacy.

"Democracies are struggling inwards the digital age, spell mainland People's Republic of China is exporting its model of censorship as well as surveillance to command information both within as well as exterior its borders," said Michael Abramowitz, president of Freedom House.

"This designing poses a threat to the opened upwards cyberspace as well as endangers prospects for greater commonwealth worldwide."

Chinese officials accept held sessions on controlling information amongst 36 of the 65 countries assessed, as well as provided telecom as well as surveillance equipment to a number of unusual governments, Freedom House said.

The accusations made yesteryear Freedom House are "without basis, unprofessional, irresponsible, as well as accept ulterior motives," said Chinese unusual ministry building official spokesman Lu Kang at a regular press briefing inwards Beijing on Thursday.

Cyberspace is complex, he added, as well as requires "the global community, including governments, businesses, mean value tanks as well as media to adopt a constructive mental attitude to keep it."

The written report establish 17 governments approved or proposed laws restricting online media inwards the call of fighting "fake news," spell eighteen countries increased surveillance or weakened encryption protection to to a greater extent than closely monitor their citizenry.

According to the researchers, cyberspace liberty declined inwards 26 countries from June 2017 to May 2018. Gains were seen inwards xix countries, around of them minor.

- China's 'techno-dystopia' -
One of the greatest threats, Freedom House said, is efforts yesteryear mainland People's Republic of China to remake the digital globe inwards its "techno-dystopian" image.

It cited a sweeping Chinese cybersecurity requirement that local as well as unusual companies "immediately halt transmission" of banned content, as well as compels them to ensure that information on Chinese users is hosted within the country.

This has been followed yesteryear "hundreds" of novel directives on what people tin as well as cannot exercise online, as well as tighter controls on the purpose of VPNs to evade detection.

The written report said leaked documents as well as other evidence suggest equally many equally a 1 G m Muslims may live on held inwards internment camps inwards Xinjiang, many equally a number of nonviolent online activities.
mainland People's Republic of China appears to live on using its large tech firms involved inwards telecom infrastructure to extend its authorisation as well as gain an border inwards surveillance, according to Freedom House.

Companies such equally Huawei -- largely banned from contracts inwards the United States of America as well as Commonwealth of Australia -- are edifice infrastructure inwards many parts of the globe including Africa as well as Latin America, according to Freedom House board chairman Michael Chertoff, a onetime United States of America secretarial assistant of homeland security.
"This opens upwards a potential for exploiting information inwards these countries yesteryear having technological backdoors that tin live on used yesteryear the Chinese authorities to collect intelligence," Chertoff said.

- Suppressing dissent -
The researchers said online liberty is facing threats inwards democratic as well as authoritarian states...MORE

See also BoingBoing, Oct 26:

China Telecom has been using poisoned cyberspace routes to suck upwards massive amounts of United States of America as well as Canadian cyberspace traffic

MORE