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China Businesses United States Technology

Can the US Stop China From Controlling the Next Internet Age? (nytimes.com) 255

Tech executives worry China will turn to tit-for-tat arrests of Americans in response to the detention of Meng Wanzhou. And the worries don't stop there. Kara Swisher, writing at The New York Times: Imagine, if you will (and you should), a big American tech executive being detained over unspecified charges while on a trip to Beijing. That is exactly what a number of Silicon Valley executives told me they are concerned about after the arrest this week of Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of the Chinese telecom company Huawei, in Canada at the behest of United States officials. "It's worrisome, because it's an escalation we did not need," one executive said, referring to the already tense trade talks between the two countries. "What China will do, given all the existing tensions, is anyone's guess."

No one I spoke to would talk on the record, out of fear of antagonizing either side and also because no one knows exactly what is happening. But many expressed worry about the possibility of tit-for-tat arrests. While everyone focuses on the drama of the arrest -- Ms. Meng was grabbed while changing planes at the airport -- and its effect on the trade talks and stock prices, to my mind there is a much more important fight brewing, and it is about tech hegemony. Specifically, who will control the next internet age, and by whose rules will it be run?

Until recently, that answer was clearly the United States, from which the Internet sprang, wiring the world together and, in the process, resulting in the greatest creation of power and wealth in history. While China has always had a strong technology sector, in recent years it has significantly escalated its investment, expertise and innovation, with major support from the government. That hand-in-glove relationship creates obvious issues, and the Trump administration is right to stop pretending that China does not present a threat both from security and innovation perspectives.
Further reading: China summons U.S. ambassador, warns Canada of 'grave consequences' if Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou is not released.
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Can the US Stop China From Controlling the Next Internet Age?

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  • How about no country (Score:5, Interesting)

    by presidenteloco ( 659168 ) on Sunday December 09, 2018 @03:15PM (#57776288)
    controlling the Internet, which is global.

    We really, really need to make a geography-free distributed encrypted storage layer (e.g. IPFS) much more of a reality, so that no country is in control. Preferably with TOR-like obfuscated routing also.

    The Internet should become a platform on which we can build global society, economy, and democracy.
    • by Rick Schumann ( 4662797 ) on Sunday December 09, 2018 @03:27PM (#57776344) Journal
      That's a nice idea, except for one thing: any 'agreement' like that would only work so long as every country on Earth willingly agreed to go along with it, because just like International Law, it's only enforceable so long as everyone agrees to enforce it -- and accept the enforcement. Similarly, the United Nations can make all the judgements and proclamations it wants, but no country, UN-member or not, is bound to accept it. The only way you could enforce such a global 'net neutrality' agreement is to literally cut off any non-compliant country from the Internet by refusing to route traffic to them, and that would require all other countries to agree 100%. As an example: let's say we decide that Iran should be cut off from the Internet entirely. Russia is an ally of theirs, they would not agree, so they'd still route traffic to Iran. We could possibly get countries to cut off Russia in retaliation, but all it would take is one country sympathetic to Russia and/or Iran, and the 'blockade' fails. Even if it works, what's to stop Russia, in this case, from using operatives stationed in other countries not subject to the blockade, from wreaking havoc on the rest of the Internet from their locations? They could launch attacks against vital infrastructure (i.e. electric, gas, water, air traffic control, etc) in retaliation, essentially all-out cyber-warfare. How do you stop that? By counter-attacking. Things get messy quickly.

      The only way such a thing would work is if we had one Global government, and zero dissent. If we, as a species, have reached the point where we can have such a thing and actually live, as a species, globally in peace and harmony, then we wouldn't need such agreements about the Internet (or much of anything else, either). Sadly, we are not socio-politically (or mentally/emotionally, for that matter) evolved enough to accomplish such things. I wish we were.
      • You want a global governance and zero dissent? Wow. Just...wow. That would be an inescapable tyranny, and you desire that outcome? Jesus.
    • ..also, may I point out to you that no country does control the Internet, globally-speaking? They control it within their own borders, and there's nothing anyone else can do about that.
      • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

        DNS is the weak point right now. Also global routing could do with better security, so that some Nigerian ISP's screw-up doesn't cause Australian traffic to be routed via Mongolia.

    • We really, really need to make a geography-free distributed encrypted storage layer (e.g. IPFS) much more of a reality, so that no country is in control. Preferably with TOR-like obfuscated routing also.

      We need to think about a network that can survive all-out war of whatever sort, whether it's DDoS or bombs falling on NOCs. What does that look like?

    • by ranton ( 36917 )

      They don't mean control as in ICANN. They mean control as in Google, Amazon, and Alibaba. This has to do with which companies control the most popular browsers, search engines, online retail sites, and enterprise software vendors.

  • if you're asking this question. The ruling class has long since gone global. The US, at least as far as our ruling class goes, won't be trying to stop anything. They'll be working closely with China's ruling class since their interests (keeping the working class in line) align.

    The real question is, will the working class stop letting the ruling class take control of the Internet. If the death of Net Neutrality is anything to go by the answer is 'no'. America's got an Election in two years, so we'll see
    • if you're asking this question. The ruling class has long since gone global. The US, at least as far as our ruling class goes, won't be trying to stop anything. They'll be working closely with China's ruling class since their interests (keeping the working class in line) align.

      It's kind of weird, when you say it like that, it sounds just like what I've heard from a lot of Trump supporters (nafta superhighway etc)

  • If you are that worried about being arrested on made-up charges when you visit a country, how about DON'T VISIT THAT COUNTRY. If you are worried that said country will make it hard to do business there or persecute your employees if executives stop paying so much attention to it, how about DON'T DO BUSINESS IN THAT COUNTRY.

    Sometimes the better business decision is to turn down a prospect.

    • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

      by rtb61 ( 674572 )

      Arrogance of Americans is astounding. No tit for tat arrests, all strictly letter of the law arrests, just with the most severe punishment possible being applied. Unlike the US where family has become disposable, family is a big thing in China, really big, especially at the top. This was not the arrest of a Chinese executive, this was the purposeful assault on the child of a leading Chinese business leader, which in Chinese reality, also means a leader in politics (you do not get to be one without the other

      • by Entrope ( 68843 )

        "You're so vain / You probably think this [comment] is about you / You're so vain / I'll bet you think this [comment] is about you / Don't you? / Don't you?" - slightly adapted from Carly Simon

        A lot of people would take my argument and use it to say that's why they would not visit the United States. I would argue that their concerns about arbitrary arrests are unjustified, but apparently my comment hit an authoritarian nerve -- you instead argued that the Chinese people would live up to all the stereotypes

        • by Whibla ( 210729 )

          If China does not want their international-criminal citizens to be arrested ...

          Pretend I've been asleep for a few years.

          Could you please explain to me, in what way is she an international criminal?

          • The charges against her (which she may be guilty of or not), is that she set up a fraudulent subsidiary of Huawei and defrauded US banks to do business with Iran several years ago when there were UN sanctions against doing business with Iran.

            That violates US law, Chinese international agreements and UN resolutions. Further, there were other, related, crimes in other countries. Hence, the charges.

      • by dargaud ( 518470 )

        the message, watch out China, we will be arresting your children overseas (no matter how old still viewed as children), top notch messaging American sure to win life long enemies and Canada, oh so fucking stupid.

        Contrast this with the top french CEO who was recently arrested in Japan for having skimmed a few millions here and there, and the reaction in France is closer to cheering...

  • I'm a Canadian, and I'm sick and tired of my government rolling over and being America's bitch. First the recent 'NAFTA' re-negotiations, and now this. Sure, Huawei probably bakes report-to-Chinese-goverment functionality into everything they make. And sure, America, and everyone else, has a right to be pissed off. But this arrest comes dangerously close to being an act of war - the US should never have done it, and my government sure as fuck should never have let it happen on Canadian soil. It's necessary

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward

      She broke a law that she signed an argreement to follow.

      Were you so passionate last may when US citizens were arrested in China for a crime one of their relatives might have done? They sit in a Chinese prison without charge to this day.

      With the US, break the law and go to jail. With China, know someone who broke the law and go to jail. Take your pick and stop being such a "butthurt fucktard."

    • If you've read the history of Huawei in America, it's been clear for some time that they only wanted a foot-hold in the USA in order to spy and infiltrate things.

      Some years back, they appointed an American citizen as the president of their U.S. operations, and picked a guy who lived out in the midwest. He didn't look anything like the type you'd expect was in charge of a telecom business at all, and I'm pretty certain he was just selected because he was happy to get paid big money to go along with whatever

    • You realize how incredibly good Canada has it, bring America's hat? How many countries would trade places with you in an instant? In exchange for the tremendous benefits Canada receives, once in a while Uncle Sam needs a favor. You can't even do that? Jesus that is a European level of entitlement and ingratitude.
    • Yeah but your government has abs so it gets a tick in my book.

    • She's being arrested for things she (allegedly) did in NYC, and the US requested an extradition for that. Are the charges made up? Probably not. But the Canadian government is giving her a chance to demonstrate it's BS before they extradite her. That's pretty much how extradition works.

  • I thought it was strange that we grabbed this woman and pointed out that we had NO rights to do so. Yet, trump's ppl are doing it.

    While Trump is right to go after China for their economic war on us, either directly or indirectly grabbing a CFO (who has NO say on who the company sells to), makes zero sense.
    • grabbing a CFO (who has NO say on who the company sells to)

      You mean the CFO who was directly involved in the sale and runs the subsidiary company used to try and minimally hide the sale? That CFO? Yeah, no idea why anyone would think she was involved in her own actions...

    • Trump had nothing to do with it. The official was grabbed during his audience with Xi, as a deliberate fuck you and an attempt to sabotage Trump's deal. Whole swathes of the US government despise him, won't take orders from him, run their departments without any input from the elected government, and work behind the scenes to sabotage anything he does.
      • Trump had nothing to do with it. The official was grabbed during his audience with Xi

        Error . Error . Does not compute.

  • lolwut? (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward

    Can China control the next internet age when they cut themselves off from the internet?

  • ...if we continue to sell our souls in the name of profit. Time and time again, we ignore the Chinese governments abuses and atrocities just so we can get access to their vast population. It's a literal deal with the devil.

  • No. Like most western countries, the US has decided to dump engineering and science and logical thinking. We prepare to become more stupefied than ever. And we all do that willingly or because we are manipulated in that direction. Mostly because we are lazy.

    Sorry, for being negative today, but just had some "great news" from the political domain as input and read university correspondence.

  • In the early days, it had no significant international capacity. International links were supplied by International Packet Switch Stream.

    Yes, the US forged TCP/IP, but authentication and security were taken from CCITT standards.

    Yes, the US held the root DNS, the IANA and ICANN, but that's by convention. In the 90s, I always cloned the DNS servers of sites I connected to, because DNS was so unreliable and slow. I used my own independent DNS tree first, theirs as backup.

    Control is tenuous, power is a phantom,

  • Would these would be the same US executives who have given us some the worst broadband access in any first world country while charging us more than virtually every other country?

    Would they be the same executives who have actively opposed any regulations that would help the consumer and then forced consumers into one-sided arbitration agreements to take away their ability to even sue the companies?

    Would they be the same executives who load up hidden fees on contracts, making any advertised price you see a c

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