August 26, 2020
To Counter China Online, Regulate Big Tech
The heads of Amazon, Google, Apple and Facebook fended off tough questions from lawmakers last month at a hearing of the House Judiciary Committee’s antitrust subcommittee. To help allay concerns about monopolistic business practices, each CEO sought to portray his company as representing American values and serving American interests. They all did so in part by pointing to a threat supposedly bigger than their own companies: China.
The U.S. needs to work together with allies to offer an appealing alternative to the Chinese system.
“If you look at where the top technology companies come from, a decade ago the vast majority were American. Today, almost half are Chinese,” Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg said in his opening remarks. “There’s no guarantee our values will win out.” Limiting Facebook’s power, he implied, would only play into Beijing’s hands. Zuckerberg and the other Big Tech executives returned to the specter of Chinese technological dominance more than 30 times over the course of the afternoon, according to a New York Times tally.
Read the full article in World Politics Review.
More from CNAS
-
Sharper: Maritime Security
Commentary
The importance of securing the maritime domain is rapidly increasing. From the South China Sea to the Red Sea, the U.S. and its allies are experiencing escalating challenges t...
By Anna Pederson & Charles Horn
-
Countering Coercion
Reports
The People’s Republic of China’s (PRC or China) has been engaging in gray zone activity—coercive behavior that is aimed at changing the status quo but that is below a threshol...
By Lisa Curtis & Nilanthi Samaranayake
-
Deterring the Powerful Enemy
Congressional Testimony
It is a privilege to testify here on matters that are important to the vital national security interests of the United States, as well as those of our other allies and partner...
By Tom Shugart
-
Military Artificial Intelligence, the People’s Liberation Army, and U.S.-China Strategic Competition
Congressional Testimony
China sees AI playing a central role in advancing its military power. Chinese Communist Party (CCP) General Secretary Xi Jinping has set ambitious goals for the PLA to “basica...
By Jacob Stokes
