Reflecting a bit further on this 'proposal' from Hu Xijin, a world where there are no truly multinational companies, only companies with different value systems adapting to the control and the value systems of their host countries is an inherently authoritarian one. (1/x)
It's in line with the digital sovereignty agenda China & Russia have been promoting at the UN.
And the idea that there are no universal human rights, only local laws. That one nation's laws are as valid as the next, whether or not they use technology to oppress... (2/x)
or who has input into these laws' formation.
Advancing a foreign policy agenda that stands up for the universality of human rights should be at the center of the US response to authoritarian technology from China or wherever else. (3/x)
If we get it right, companies in democracies can be some of our strongest ambassadors in the fight against tyranny.
But they alone cannot lead it. (4/x)
It's not clear that the goal of advancing this foreign policy was served by the TikTok saga. And there's more than a little evidence to the contrary.
Next time--& there will be a next time--let's do better. With clarity on what we're really fighting for in the first place.(end)
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Heading into the midterms, nearly 30 percent of major-party candidates in Senate races and 1/5 in House races now have #TikTok accounts. Natsec concerns remain.
I told @Cat_Zakrzewski,“It’s very clear that TikTok is not ready for the onslaught of political content...And there’s a question whether TikTok — being owned by a Chinese company — can ever really be ready for handling U.S. political content responsibly.” washingtonpost.com/technology/202…
National security concerns around data security on #TikTok and the enormous surface area for Chinese censorship/propaganda remain unresolved.
But that hasn't stopped US politicians from experimenting with the platform to reach its expansive base of young voters.
US candidate @DoreenBogdan is running on a platform of a “Trusted, Connected Digital Future” against Russia’s Rashid Ismailov, a former Telecom Minister and Huawei VP who is likely to support the emerging autocratic view of the future internet.
The @ITU is the world’s oldest UN agency (formerly the International Telegraph Union) and is a technical standards body where engineers and tech companies—but also governments—convene and vote on the protocols for emerging technologies from #6G to #AI. securingdemocracy.gmfus.org/introductory-v…
The Biden admin and #TikTok have drafted a preliminary agreement to resolve national security concerns but face hurdles over the terms, as the platform negotiates to keep operating in the United States without major changes to its ownership structure. nytimes.com/2022/09/26/tec…
I've written previously about what the threats of #TikTok are to democratic societies for @SecureDemocracy.
There are two main ones:
1⃣ Data exfiltration
2⃣ Information manipulation
And for @lawfareblog on what the US and its democratic partners -- many of whom like Australia🇦🇺 have raised and continue to raise similar concerns -- should be doing. lawfareblog.com/way-forward-us…
To outcompete autocrats, democracies need affirmative strategies & a positive vision for emerging technology.
Over the last 10 months ASD partnered w/@ISDglobal@Demos@SNFAgoraJHU on *The Good Web Project* to articulate a vision for an Internet compatible w/liberal democracy.🧵
Democratic tech cooperation is on the rise, from the Quad 🇦🇺🇮🇳🇯🇵🇺🇸Critical & Emerging Tech Working Group, to the proposed EU-US Trade & Tech Council.🇪🇺🇺🇸
But while there is a growing consensus among developed democracies on what they are pushing against, there is considerably less understanding of what they are striving for.
And wide-ranging differences across the democratic spectrum on technology issues complicate coherence.
It remains to be seen how much the platform will reconstitute itself, but the foreign influence implications of a Russia-based host of Americans’ speech are deeply troubling.
According to @AdamSculthorpe, the Parler website domain is registered with Epik, which services Gab, InfoWars, and The Daily Stormer. Extremist sites connect beyond the surface layer of the internet.
As @washingtonpost writes, "The report from the Alliance for Securing Democracy at the German Marshall Fund lays out steps U.S. officials need to take to compete with China in the race for emerging technologies" @Joseph_Marks_@TonyaJoRiley
Democracies and autocracies are engaged in a contest for the soul of the Internet.
Just as our current Internet of mobile apps was a step change from the world of dial-up, the "Future Internet" will have just as significant impacts on our information environment & our democracy.