Technology
Technology
Authoritarian influencers take advantage of emerging technologies and the globally connected digital environment to extend their reach into open societies.
Overview
Rapid advancements in the technological sphere have been a driving force of globalization, leading to ever deeper forms of technological interdependence between democracies and autocracies. Ubiquitous instant-communication tools and technologies that enable the collection and processing of big data have opened unexpected avenues for the manipulation of public opinion, political processes, and democratic institutions.
Emerging technologies are reshaping how communities interact with their environment, how businesses deliver services, and how governments solve problems. Until the past decade, the dominant assumption was that the conveniences and practical capabilities of new technologies—including big data tools, integrated urban-management systems (“smart cities”), and the so-called Internet of Things (IOT)—would generate positive progress. Instead, it has become increasingly clear that the advantages these powerful technologies offer to authoritarian regimes have been profoundly underestimated.
Sharp Power Influence
Platforms and innovations developed in open, democratic settings are not immune from vulnerabilities. Google and Apple, for example, have conceded to content takedown requests from authoritarian actors, setting a harmful precedent for free speech.
The rapid diffusion of platforms incubated in authoritarian settings poses an additional threat. The widespread uptake of TikTok and WeChat—both developed by Chinese-owned companies—has enabled censorship, misinformation, and other corrosive practices in some settings.
Authoritarian powers are harnessing artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to devise ever more precise methods of social management. When disseminated in places where civil society and government oversight are limited, AI technologies can facilitate the closing of civic space and the normalization of authoritarian values.
International standard-setting bodies—such as the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO)—present a ripe opportunity for authoritarian actors to shape the underpinnings of the international technological environment, from technical standards to the conceptual framing of tech-related debates.
Emerging technologies offer numerous conveniences and capabilities, benefiting consumers and government alike; they also carry inherent risks that can threaten liberal democracies when leveraged by powerful dictatorships that wish the reinforce and spread their authoritarianism.
Samantha Hoffman
Double-Edged Sword: China’s Sharp Power Exploitation of Emerging Technologies
Democratic Responses
Modern technology is shaping the political landscape, and democracies should deepen efforts to encourage free expression, protect the integrity of information, and strengthen essential privacy safeguards. Civil society can meet this multisectoral challenging by coordinating with media, government, and private-sector actors.
Norms and Standard Setting
- Civil society should participate in transparent, multistakeholder governance and international standard-setting bodies like the ITU, ISO, and IEC.
- Nongovernmental actors can support the “siloing” of data to limit authoritarian affordances and enhance security.
- Civil society should encourage investment in research and development to offer credible alternatives to systems and services designed to meet authoritarian standards.
Cross-Sector Collaboration
- Media and civil society organizations should coordinate to expose and amplify indicators of tech-enabled sharp power in their countries. This will contribute to broader public awareness of the issues, encourage debate on what should be done, and pressure governments to take protective action.
- Corporate and government research-and-development technology enterprises should invite civil society groups to consult on whether their technologies meet democratic standards.
Education and Awareness
- Civil society organizations should be trained on emerging technologies and enabled to implement digital literacy programs that go beyond basic personal and corporate data-management practices.
- Civil society can leverage foreign-language expertise to pursue research into authoritarian states’ laws, regulations, and pronouncements surrounding emerging technologies.
Technology
The reporting and analysis catalogued in the Portal illustrates how authoritarian powers influence international norms and standards governing emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, smart cities, big data, and surveillance tools.
Latest Resources
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Source: Journal of Democracy
Publication Date: July 19, 2022
Combating Beijing’s Sharp Power: How Australia’s Civil Society Led the Way
Authoritarian Country: China
Affected Region: Australia, Asia-Pacific
Author: John Fitzgerald
Australian civil society was years ahead of the government and its agencies in exposing PRC surveillance and interference among local diaspora communities and in working to defend the rights of those belonging to these communities as equal citizens of Australia.
Source: Journal of Democracy
Publication Date: July 19, 2022
Combating Beijing’s Sharp Power: Taiwan’s Democracy Under Fire
Authoritarian Country: China
Affected Region: Taiwan, Asia-Pacific
Author: Ketty W. Chen
The Chinese Communist Party continues to launch influence operations against Taiwan, often using proxies to serve PRC aims. One factor working in Taiwan’s favor as it resists these efforts is the commitment of its robust and vibrant civil society to defending the island nation’s democracy.
Source: Journal of Democracy
Publication Date: July 19, 2022
Combating Beijing’s Sharp Power: Transparency Wins in Europe
Authoritarian Country: China
Affected Region: North Macedonia, Lithuania, Hungary, Czechia, Europe
Author: Martin Hála
Making friends among foreign political elites through united front work, “economic diplomacy,” corruption, and other means allows Beijing to repurpose coopted institutions for its own agenda, undermining democratic systems from within. It is the role of democratic civil society to expose these efforts.
Source: Swedish National China Centre
Publication Date: July 10, 2022
Purchasing with the Party: Chinese Consumer Boycotts of Foreign Companies, 2008-2021
Authoritarian Country: China
Affected Region: Global
Author: Viking Bohman, Hillevi Pårup
Consumer boycotts, including one-third which were found to be supported by party- or state-affiliated organizations, presented new challenges for foreign businesses seeking to capitalize on the significant purchasing power of Chinese citizens.
Source: Alliance for Securing Democracy
Publication Date: June 14, 2022
China and the Digital Information Stack in the Global South
Authoritarian Country: China
Affected Region: Jamaica, Asia-Pacific, Uganda, Burma, Thailand, Nigeria, Latin America and the Caribbean, Sub-Saharan Africa
Author: Bryce Barros, Nathan Kohlenberg, Etienne Soula
To counter digital authoritarianism, civil society must learn how the PRC party-state uses its influence to shape, influence, control, surveil, and suppress information that is contrary to the PRC and Chinese Communist Party’s goals or critical of those institutions or other autocrats.
Publication Date: June 8, 2022
China’s Southern Strategy
Authoritarian Country: China
Affected Region: Middle East and North Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, Sub-Saharan Africa
Author: Nadège Rolland
Chinese policymakers are using economic incentives to gain influence in the “global South” and sway votes in international fora. Countries with independent media, nongovernment organizations, and strong civil societies are more likely to resist attempts at corruption, co-optation, and coercion.
