In recent years, the advancement of Internet technology and the marketization of "big data" information have facilitated the Chinese authorities to implement social monitoring through a series of technological means such as real-name, facial recognition, and health codes. Among them, the Internet "Great Firewall" has once again attracted attention from the outside world.
On Tuesday (July 23), the U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee on China held a hearing on China's Internet firewall and the export of related authoritarian surveillance technology overseas by the Beijing authorities. The senior member of the committee, Democratic Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, pointed out that the Chinese Communist Party authorities' investment in domestic security has exceeded military spending, and most of the funds are used to lay surveillance camera networks.
“We cannot let the Chinese Communist Party control the internet, because the internet was designed to connect people, not divide and control them,” he said. “Whether it’s resisting the CCP’s export of authoritarian technology or standing with the Chinese people in fighting for freedom of speech, we must ensure that the freedom and openness of society and the internet defeat censorship and control.”
Nat Kretchun, senior vice president of the Open Technology Fund, pointed out at the hearing that the Beijing authorities are not just building an increasingly powerful Internet firewall, but are aiming to achieve multi-level control over Internet technology and society through their ambitious plans. He warned that the extent to which the Chinese authorities exert control over society through WeChat and other online platforms has now far exceeded the scope of what an open Internet can achieve - censorship is faster, more detailed, more comprehensive, and anti-surveillance is more difficult to avoid. This has led to the Communist Party authorities' information being more easily spread through the Internet, and people downloading or using tools to bypass the firewall have even been criminalized.
“We can reasonably assume that the era in which most Chinese people can and naturally seek out uncensored content is over,” he said. “Apple, Google, and other American technology companies must stop their current practices of aiding Chinese Communist Party censorship. To combat the normalization of technological authoritarianism, we must work with like-minded partners to advance the vision of a global free internet.”
In view of the concerns about the Chinese authorities exporting network surveillance technology to authoritarian countries, John Moolenaar, a Republican congressman and chairman of the Select Committee on the CCP, recently published a signed article in Newsweek (July 22), calling on Chinese leader Xi Jinping to eliminate the authoritarian "Great Firewall" of the Chinese Internet. Moolenaar specifically pointed out that "the CCP's pursuit of controlling information is not limited to China. With the help of leading state-backed companies such as Huawei, Hikvision and ZTE, the CCP is rapidly exporting its surveillance technology abroad and has found many buyers."
At a congressional hearing on Tuesday, Zack Cooper, a senior fellow for U.S. Asia policy at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), a Washington think tank, warned that the Great Firewall is not just a surveillance tool of the Chinese Communist Party or a simple technological evolution, but a new threat to global Internet freedom. He stressed that information competition with the Chinese Communist Party is a core issue in U.S.-China relations.
“The Great Firewall is increasingly becoming not only an obstacle for the Chinese people, but also a stumbling block for U.S.-China relations. … Efforts to stabilize U.S.-China relations are now plagued by the CCP’s censorship and disinformation apparatus.” Cooper said: “If the Chinese economy continues to struggle due to the CCP’s mismanagement, Beijing may feel that it must rely more on nationalism to enhance domestic public opinion support. If this happens, the CCP may be more inclined to blame the United States for China’s own difficulties.”
Cooper also warned that over the past decade, the Chinese government has exported censorship and surveillance technologies to more than 80 countries around the world, and these tools and technologies have been adopted by dictators in countries such as Russia, Iran, and Venezuela.
Xiao Qiang, founder of "China Digital Times", emphasized at the hearing that the development of artificial intelligence technology is helping Beijing strengthen its ability to monitor, censor and manipulate information.
“AI technologies rely heavily on the centralization of massive amounts of data, tending to empower centralized dictators, authoritarian governments, and dictatorships rather than decentralized democratic systems,” he said. “China is the most powerful and technologically advanced dictatorship. By using these technologies, the CCP is consolidating its power internally while weakening democratic competitors abroad. The CCP is providing the world with a blueprint for building a digital totalitarian state, posing a real threat to world peace.”