The tensions between China and the US keep
on escalating. This week's dispute is based on a recurrent problem – national
security and data usage.
Last Saturday, the US Department of Defense
announced that it is considering adding the Chinese semiconductor
manufacturer SMIC to the Entity List, which would make it more difficult for
the company to obtain equipment pieces made in the States. This decision
could potentially hurt production. The Trump administration's eyes are on SMIC because
the company aids China's military. Upon the news, SMIC referred to the claims
as being "untrue statements and false accusations."
But this isn't a new practice started by
the US. Huawei has been
added to the abovementioned list earlier this year. Moreover, ByteDance's TikTok is
facing a ban if it is not purchased until the American government's
deadline.
China didn't fail to respond, and at the
beginning of this week, it launched a global data #security initiative. The
initiative has eight main points that tackle the countries' infrastructure
impairment, possible data theft, and assuring that service providers will not
install backdoors in their software, obtaining users data illegally. The initiative
is also looking to end activities that "infringe upon personal
information," and it opposes technology that conducts mass surveillance of
other states. Any country that joins the initiative must respect the other
states' sovereignty, jurisdiction, and governance. It should not require
companies to provide data without asking for permission if located in another country.
Despite China having its approach to #censorship
and data, countries like Australia are
concerned about the Asian country's legislation. Two pieces of Chinese
legislation, the 2017 National Intelligence Law and the 2014 Counter-Espionage
Law, compel companies to hand over data if asked by #Beijing.
Given the current situation between the US and China, no one can
exactly say what will happen next. The best one can do is keeping an eye on the
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