Massive Leak Reveals China Exporting Digital Authoritarianism: Report

Researchers say the contracts reveal a fundamental shift in internet freedom, and the possibility for ‘rapid expansion’ of censorship is likely.
Massive Leak Reveals China Exporting Digital Authoritarianism: Report
Schoolchildren walk below surveillance cameras in Akto, in western Xinjiang region, China, on June 4, 2019.Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images
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Researchers with InterSecLab and several human rights organizations on Sept. 9 published a report detailing how the Chinese communist regime has not only refined its internet surveillance and censorship abilities domestically, but is also exporting these methods for profit.

The findings are the conclusion of analyzing more than 100,000 leaked documents from Geedge Networks, a Chinese company that has contracted with governments in Kazakhstan, Ethiopia, Pakistan, Burma (Myanmar), and other unknown governments to “establish sophisticated systems of internet censorship and surveillance.”