The Chinese government is asking some tech companies from the United States to pledge their commitment to contentious policies that could require them to turn user’s private information over to the government, says The New York Times.

According to one insider, the government distributed a document to some US tech companies earlier this summer. The document required companies to promise they would not harm China’s national security and would keep user data stored within the country.

A security analyst was called saying that the letter asked companies to keep their products ‘secure and controllable,’ in other words, maintain back-doors open (allowing access for surveillance software), provide encryption keys, or even hand over source code.

Clearly, the world’s biggest internet market is yielding its power vis-a-vis US tech companies. Even though president Obama has accused the Chinese of anticompetitive practices, the economic interest of companies such as Facebook and Google (both affected by China’s massive internet filter) outweighs the limitations.

The pledge does not only consider matters of national security. Though this is one of the principles defended by it, the second one refers to ensuring consumer’s rights. The 6 promises are:

• Respect the user’s right to know.
• Respect the user’s right to control.
• Respect the user’s right to choice.
• Guarantee product safety and trustworthiness.
• Guarantee the security of user information.
• Accept the supervision of all parts of society.

These efforts for more control and autonomy in the tech sector are not isolated. For long China has tried to develop their own operative system, seeking to develop their own software and even an operative system. The government deems their dependence of foreign technology as a threat. That is why the National University of Defence Technology (directly under the Central Military Commission) has put so much effort in the development of a hitherto successful alternative to Microsoft Widows: Ubuntu Kylin OS.

SOURCES:

The New York Times. China Tries to Extract Pledge of Compliance From U.S. Tech Firms. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/17/technology/china-tries-to-extract-pledge-of-compliance-from-us-tech-firms.html?_r=0

The New York Times. Cyberthreat Posed by China and Iran Confounds White House. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/16/world/asia/cyberthreat-posed-by-china-and-iran-confounds-white-house.html

South China Morning Post. A Chinese OS at last? More than 40 per cent of Dell PCs in China now running homegrown Windows alternative. http://www.scmp.com/tech/china-tech/article/1857948/chinese-os-last-more-40-cent-dell-pcs-china-now-running-homegrown

Ubuntu Kylin OS. http://www.ubuntu.com/desktop/ubuntu-kylin

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