US Tech Companies Enabled China’s Surveillance and Detention Programs
An Associated Press investigation revealed how American tech companies played a significant role in building China’s digital surveillance state, selling billions of dollars worth of technology to the Chinese government despite warnings of human rights abuses. This technology, including “predictive policing” systems, was used to monitor and control citizens, especially those deemed “troublemakers” like the Yang family. U.S. firms like IBM and Cisco provided the foundation for China’s surveillance, particularly in Xinjiang, where the Uyghur population faced mass detention facilitated by these technologies. Although the flow of this tech has slowed, the initial foundation enabled the current surveillance apparatus.
John Q. Hosedrinker