American technology companies, including Oracle, Cisco, and IBM, are facing renewed scrutiny over their role in enabling China's vast surveillance apparatus, which has been used to target and detain hundreds of thousands of people, including Uyghurs in Xinjiang and dissidents elsewhere. An Associated Press investigation has revealed that these firms sold billions of dollars in technology to Chinese police and government entities despite warnings from the US Congress and media that such tools were being used to quash dissent and persecute minorities.
The investigation found that US companies brought 'predictive policing' to China, using systems that mine data from texts, calls, payments, flights, video, and even water and power use to identify and preemptively detain individuals deemed suspicious. In Xinjiang, these systems have been used to track and grade the Uyghur population, forcibly assimilating them through mass detention campaigns.
One case highlighted by the AP involves the Yang family, farmers in Jiangsu province who have been subjected to constant surveillance after resisting land seizures. Their home is ringed with cameras, their communications are monitored, and they have been prevented from travelling to Beijing to protest. Yang's wife and daughter now face trial for 'disrupting the work of the Chinese state.'
IBM worked with Chinese defence contractor Huadi to design the 'Golden Shield' policing system, used to censor the internet and crack down on dissent, according to classified government blueprints verified by AP. Dell and Thermo Fisher Scientific also marketed products specifically for ethnic minorities in China, including Uyghurs and Tibetans.
While the flow of American technology has slowed since 2019 due to sanctions over Xinjiang, the foundations laid by these companies continue to underpin China's surveillance state. The companies involved have stated they fully comply with all laws and export controls.
