{"id":1642443,"date":"2022-09-16T08:22:44","date_gmt":"2022-09-16T12:22:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1642443"},"modified":"2022-09-16T08:23:18","modified_gmt":"2022-09-16T12:23:18","slug":"big-tech-whistleblower-exposes-twitters-close-relationship-with-the-chinese-communist-party","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/big-tech-whistleblower-exposes-twitters-close-relationship-with-the-chinese-communist-party\/","title":{"rendered":"Big Tech Whistleblower Exposes Twitter\u2019s Close Relationship With The Chinese Communist Party"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fbig-tech-whistleblower-exposes-twitters-close-relationship-with-the-chinese-communist-party%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1642443&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><\/div>\n<p>A former Twitter executive\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/twitter-whistleblower-heads-to-congress-ahead-of-shareholder-vote-on-elon-musks-44-billion-takeover-bid-11663061403?mod=hp_lead_pos3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">testified<\/a>\u00a0to the U.S. Congress on Tuesday regarding concerns about Twitter\u2019s data security issues. His testimony and the following Q&#038;A with senators revealed many problems relating to the safety and security of user data, but the most disturbing revelation was Twitter\u2019s relationship with China.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Peiter Zatko, the former head of security at Twitter, was fired by the company in January of this year. Zatko filed a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/twitters-ex-security-head-files-whistleblower-complaint-11661263009?mod=article_inline\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">whistleblower complaint<\/a>\u00a0with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last month, alleging the company \u201cprioritized profits over security\u201d and exposed Twitter users worldwide to data privacy and security risks. Zatko especially raised concern about the company\u2019s cozy relationship with foreign governments, such as China.<\/p>\n<p>Although the Chinese government officially bans Twitter, the company, according to Zatko, has been eager to kowtow to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for the sake of the company\u2019s bottom line.\u00a0Twitter\u2019s cooperation with the Chinese government is two-fold. One aspect is user data security. Zatko disclosed that the FBI notified Twitter that at least one Chinese agent was working in the company. It was not clear what the company did about this.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Zatko said he and some other Twitter employees had voiced their concerns to senior executives about the possibility that the CCP would be able to access sensitive Twitter user data. The CCP could use this information to monitor dissidents inside China and overseas critics, quickly locate their whereabouts and impose harm on them.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>According to the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/china-is-now-sending-twitter-users-to-prison-for-posts-most-chinese-cant-see-11611932917\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Wall Street Journal<\/a>, Chinese authorities imprisoned more than 50 Chinese citizens between 2019 and 2021 for using\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/market-data\/quotes\/TWTR\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Twitter<\/a>\u00a0and other foreign platforms to criticize Beijing\u2019s policy. For example, one Chinese user with fewer than 300 followers was sentenced to jail for nine months after complaining on Twitter about Beijing\u2019s mishandling of Covid-19.<\/p>\n<p>Even for overseas Beijing critics, threats to our safety are real. For instance, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) unveiled\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/thediplomat.com\/2022\/03\/us-alleges-transnational-repression-scheme-involving-chinas-secret-police\/?utm_source=Chinas+Global+Sharp+Power&amp;utm_campaign=26c0c5fbf8-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_09_05_04_36_COPY_01&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_term=0_bd13b70517-26c0c5fbf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">three such cases<\/a>\u00a0early this year, accusing five individuals, including Americans and undercover agents sent from China, of \u201cstalking, harassing, and spying on\u201d Chinese dissidents in the United States on behalf of China\u2019s Ministry of State Security (MSS). China also boasted that it had brought more than 8,000 overseas Chinese \u201ccriminals\u201d back to China under its\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/article\/operation-fox-hunt-how-china-exports-repression-using-a-network-of-spies-hidden-in-plain-sight\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Operation Fox Hunt and Operation Sky Net programs<\/a>, bypassing local jurisdictions.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In 2011, Twitter settled with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) related to the company\u2019s handling of user data. According to Zatko, the company Twitter has made \u201clittle meaningful progress on basic security, integrity and privacy systems\u201d since then. As a Twitter user and vocal critic of the CCP, I entrusted my data to the company. It is unsettling to learn from the whistleblower\u2019s complaint how little the company values my privacy and safety.<\/p>\n<p>Zatko\u2019s congressional testimony on Tuesday also referenced the latest\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/technology\/block-blue-ticks-how-china-became-big-business-twitter-2022-09-13\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">report<\/a>\u00a0from Reuters, which uncovered another disturbing aspect of Twitter\u2019s cozy relationship with the CCP. Twitter\u2019s ad revenue from the China region \u201chas seen an 800-fold improvement since 2014,\u201d and China is \u201cthe platform\u2019s fastest-growing overseas ad market and one of its largest non-U.S. revenue sources.\u201d How did this happen?<\/p>\n<p>It turned out that although the Chinese government has banned its citizens from accessing Twitter, it recognized that western social media could play an essential role in the CCP\u2019s overseas influence campaigns. Chinese government agencies, state media, and their representatives (including CCP members) have opened Twitter accounts, purchased advertisements on the platform, and used Twitter to spread Beijing\u2019s propaganda and misinformation in efforts to shape public opinion overseas. Driven to grow its bottom line, Twitter\u2019s China sales team\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/technology\/block-blue-ticks-how-china-became-big-business-twitter-2022-09-13\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reportedly<\/a>\u00a0aggressively courted local Chinese governments.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In his whistleblower complaint, Zatko alleged that \u201cTwitter executives knew that accepting Chinese money risked endangering users in China \u2026 but Twitter was too dependent upon the revenue stream at this point to do anything other than attempt to increase it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Chinese government agencies and their representatives\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/technology\/block-blue-ticks-how-china-became-big-business-twitter-2022-09-13\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reportedly<\/a>\u00a0used the purse\u2019s power to demand blue checks on their accounts, lending them credibility for unsuspected users worldwide. While Twitter often violates American citizens\u2019 constitutionally protected right to free speech by temporarily or\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.visiontimes.com\/2021\/10\/11\/twitter-continues-to-ban-trump-but-allows-accounts-created-by-dictators-and-terrorist-organizations-to-operate.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">permanently suspending accounts<\/a>\u00a0in the name of combating\u00a0misinformation and disinformation, it rarely applies such censorship to Chinese government accounts.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>For example, former China\u2019s ambassador to the United States, Cui Tian Kai, denied Beijing\u2019s suppression of the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong and human rights abuses against Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AmbCuiTiankai\/status\/1202423623908315138?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1202423623908315138%7Ctwgr%5E1de4501d4859a0e4d1b40fa3e1ac641737912e82%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2020%2F03%2F13%2Fasia%25\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Twitter<\/a>. Zhao Lijian, China\u2019s Foreign Ministry spokesperson and a well-known \u201cwolf diplomat,\u201d spread a conspiracy theory of Covid-19\u2019s origin on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/zlj517\/status\/1238111898828066823?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1238111898828066823%7Ctwgr%5E1de4501d4859a0e4d1b40fa3e1ac641737912e82%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2020%2F03%2F13%2Fasia%2Fchina\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Twitter<\/a>\u00a0and accused the U.S. military of bringing the coronavirus to China. <\/p>\n<p>Even though there are mountains of evidence suggesting both Cui\u2019s and Zhao\u2019s tweets as disinformation, their tweets remain intact, and their accounts were never suspended. While demonstrating great deference to Chinese government officials, Twitter has suspended, even\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2018\/11\/25\/twitter-permanently-bans-feminist-writing-men-arent-women\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">permanently banned<\/a>, many Americans for tweeting \u201cMen aren\u2019t women.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Twitter is currently fighting a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/elon-musk-and-twitter-to-face-off-at-wide-ranging-hearing-11662476991?mod=article_inline\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">legal battle<\/a>\u00a0with Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla. Musk made an offer to purchase Twitter but backed out of the deal, alleging the company misrepresented its business, among other things. Zatko\u2019s whistleblower complaint will no doubt strengthen Musk\u2019s case.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>For many Twitter users worldwide, Zatko did a public service by revealing the company\u2019s many problems, including its relationship with the Chinese government. The whistleblower complaint also exposed Twitter\u2019s double standards and hypocrisy regarding free speech. It is time that all Twitter users think long and hard about whether we should continue to support this social media platform and let it profit from our activities and information while risking our privacy and safety.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">\n  Helen Raleigh, CFA, is an American entrepreneur, writer, and speaker. She&#8217;s a senior contributor at The Federalist. Her writings appear in other national media, including The Wall Street Journal and Fox News.  Helen is the author of several books, including &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Confucius-Never-Said-Helen-Raleigh\/dp\/1499185278\/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&amp;keywords=Helen+Raleigh+Confucius+Never+Said&amp;qid=1606079469&amp;sr=8-1\">Confucius Never Said<\/a>&#8221; and \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Backlash-How-Chinas-Aggression-Backfired\/dp\/1736008501\/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&amp;qid=1606006113&amp;sr=8-1\">Backlash: How Communist China&#8217;s Aggression Has Backfired<\/a>.&#8221; Follow her on Parler and Twitter: @HRaleighspeaks.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A former Twitter executive\u00a0testified\u00a0to the U.S. Congress on Tuesday regarding concerns about Twitter\u2019s data security issues. His testimony and the following Q&#038;A with senators revealed many problems relating to the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":536,"featured_media":1642445,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1642443","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1642443","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/536"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1642443"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1642443\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1642445"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1642443"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1642443"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1642443"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}