23d100-tech-integrity-project

Microsoft Uses Chinese Engineers to Maintain DoD Systems

Tue, 15 Jul 2025 19:08:18 GMT

Pro Publica recently published a report detailing how Microsoft, for nearly a decade, has used Chinese engineers to help maintain the US Department of Defense’s computer systems. According to the report, the Chinese engineers are overseen by officials who lack the technical knowledge to detect potential cyber threats. Notably, under Chinese law, all Chinese citizens are required to assist the Chinese government in intelligence and espionage operations if compelled.

Tech Integrity Project Policy Director Geoffrey Cain offered the following comment:

"For years, I’ve warned that Microsoft’s extensive business operations in China are threatening US national security. Today’s news may be the most egregious revelation yet. In recent years, China has launched widespread and successful cyber attacks against a slew of US government agencies by exploiting their Microsoft systems. Today’s news may explain why Chinese hackers have such a knack for cracking Microsoft products. It is past time that the Department of Defense and other US agencies exercise their procurement power to force Microsoft to make a change. There is simply too much at stake to enable US tech companies to continue putting profits over American security."

You can read the full report , “A Little-Known Microsoft Program Could Expose the Defense Department to Chinese Hackers,” in Pro Publica, and you can see Geoff’s post on X here .

Op-Ed: The tariff test: Big Tech’s moment of truth in China

Mon, 23 Jun 2025 21:06:38 GMT

Imagine running your company out of a high-tech campus with armed guards at the gates, listening devices in the walls and a landlord who insists you turn over your blueprints to keep the lights on.

Most executives would scramble for the exits. But for years, American tech companies made peace with that setup in China. Now, exposed by tariffs, they’re feeling the consequences of their devilish bargain.

By inviting scrutiny, the tariffs are forcing Big Tech to confront the vulnerabilities they long ignored: their excessive reliance on Chinese manufacturing, their reckless partnerships with companies connected to an authoritarian government and their transfer of sensitive technology into the hands of America’s largest adversary.

The results of the stress test of tariffs? They revealed that when forced to choose between shareholder returns and geopolitical alignment, many companies opted for market access — until that access came with a higher price.

Tech Integrity Project is dedicated to ending this collusion. Tech Integrity Project works to protect the national security and economic competitiveness of the United States by preventing Big Tech companies from aiding America’s adversaries. The organization works to educate policymakers and the public about the problematic business activities of U.S. tech companies in China and other adversarial nations, including capital investment, overseas research, transfer of trade secrets, and selling access to sensitive technologies.

Cain: Microsoft Handing Training, Technology to China

Mon, 10 Feb 2025 14:25:52 GMT

According to the New York Post, a t least four current DeepSeek employees previously worked at Microsoft Research Asia, three of whom spent at least five years as research interns at Microsoft.

“If you’re working for Microsoft for five years at any other job, that’s enough time to climb into a mid-senior or senior position,” said Geoffrey Cain, policy director at the Tech Integrity Project, in a New York Post article about Microsoft’s AI research lab in China .

“Your typical intern does not spend five years developing AI software with that title, only to go on and to help release one of the most successful AI releases of all time.”

“This is a deeper problem,” Cain added. “It’s that Microsoft is handing the training and the technology to China. It’s not necessary for these software developers in Microsoft to literally hand the tech to the CCP. They don’t even need to do that because Microsoft does it for them."

Of equal concern, according to experts, is the fact that Microsoft Research Asia serves as a proving ground for some of China’s best tech talent – many of whom later utilize their expertise to start or work at firms that directly compete with US interests with the backing of the Chinese Communist Party.

You can read the full article HERE .

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Geoff Cain Discusses What DeepSeek Means for U.S.-China Relations and the Race for AI Dominance

Thu, 06 Feb 2025 13:32:18 GMT

Geoff Cain appeared on Bari Weiss's podcast Honestly to discuss what DeepSeek means for U.S.-China relations and the race for AI dominance.

"And this isn't just about generative AI. There's lots of types of AI. I saw it when I was in China, when I was investigating surveillance AI. So, facial recognition technology, a lot of this being developed with the help of software developers who were trained by Microsoft and other American companies being sent out there to set up an AI system, which, by the way, the Chinese government literally called 'Skynet.' I mean, it's like right out of Terminator."

"You go to any Big Tech Company, almost all of them will say nothing bad about China or about the CCP or the human rights abuses there, the national security concerns there, because they've been bought off by market access. They want to be able to manufacture their EVs and their cars and whatever else it is that they're making in China."

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INTERVIEW: DeepSeek has Embarrassed Silicon Valley

Tue, 28 Jan 2025 13:42:46 GMT

TIP Policy Director Geoffrey Cain joins Emily on the UnHerd podcast to discuss the rise of DeepSeek.

***

Geoffrey Cain

"It's just the reality of doing business with China. Many US companies have done business with China. Microsoft is a good example—Apple has also done quite a bit there—but Microsoft is a company that has fueled much of the rise of China’s AI industry. They’re one of the biggest investors with one of the biggest presences in China when it comes to AI and they even actually had a dispute not long ago with a Chinese company that was involved in AI because they were abusing one of these AI models that Microsoft was renting out to them. This company was trying to use it, and by the way this company was ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok. They were trying to create their own AI model using American AI models, which was against the rules of that contract. So whenever American companies go to China, they tend to get bilked and messed with."

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Geoffrey Cain

"I would say one of the big culprits behind China’s technological rise as I found out when I lived in China, was not merely Chinese firms, but US firms. American big tech companies were promised a bill of goods, this was back in the high age of globalization 20 to 30 years ago. They were promised a bill of goods that if they entered China, China would eventually change, it would become more democratic, it would become more open. people would become wealthier and more prosperous, and one day we would see a better China, a more prosperous China that could become maybe a US ally or it could become some kind of major technological partner. That world never came to exist. It was an absolute lie, and the people who were in China—journalists in China, government officials, I’ve spoken to a number of them in China—they all knew that this wasn’t gonna happen. They knew what the Chinese Communist Party was planning, and the plan was to steal intellectual property, to steal it for the greatness of the Chinese state, to apply it to Chinese technologies, including military tech and surveillance tech, and then use it to build their own ecosystem all while kicking out the US companies or just giving them a really hard time once they built their presence there. ... It's sad that it's come to this, but now, here in America, American Big Tech Companies, they won’t say anything about China in public because they’re so terrified of angering the Chinese Communist Party and then losing their market access or having some major regulatory attack in China. The CCP will open investigations into them and arrest people and fire them and so forth. They’re just terrified of the Chinese Communist Party power and they self-censor in a democracy, in America, to please the CCP. So one of the problems in this field that we’re talking about today with Chinese AI, with what’s happening over there, we can’t have an open discussion about this in America because American companies refuse to stand up to an authoritarian, hostile regime. They wanna keep the CCP, the Chinese Communist Party, happy while they keep the Trump Administration happy. They think they can have it both ways. But ultimately they’re finding increasingly that they have to choose a side. It’s one or the other. Your flag is either America or China and you can’t have it both ways."

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Op-Ed: DeepSeek Is a Wake-Up Call. Is America Listening?

Mon, 27 Jan 2025 13:37:35 GMT

"China’s companies often take a systematic approach to transferring, even copying, foreign intellectual property," argues TIP Policy Director Geoffrey Cain in an op-ed The Free Press .

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"China’s companies often take a systematic approach to transferring, even copying, foreign intellectual property, a strategy of government-supported, industrial-scale espionage. This was exactly the dynamic of Apple’s failed ambitions to build a long-range electric vehicle (EV) battery in partnership with Chinese automaker BYD. The project had the potential to expand the life of EV batteries everywhere. But last October, after seven years of research and development, Apple abandoned the project, while its partner BYD surged ahead with similar technology. BYD has now overtaken Tesla as the world’s largest maker of electric vehicles."

"Meanwhile, American companies’ presence in Chinese markets means we have given away technological secrets that have major national security implications. Microsoft, to name just one firm of many, has inadvertently accelerated China’s AI growth by providing the country with lucrative research partnerships, cloud computing services, and infrastructure."

"Finally, the U.S. has to stop the damaging technology transfers by Big Tech companies too eager to do business with China. American innovations must remain American; American companies must show their allegiance to one flag rather than being doublehanded with enemies."

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Cain: It's Time for Microsoft, Apple, Amazon to Cut Ties with with TikTok and ByteDance

Fri, 17 Jan 2025 13:54:33 GMT

Aside from the implications for Google and Apple, the Supreme Court’s decision adds fresh complications for Big Tech firms that have problematic “entanglements” with TikTok and ByteDance, according to Geoffrey Cain, policy director at the Tech Integrity Project and author of The Perfect Police State .

“Given the unanimous ruling that these Chinese firms are national security threats, it is time for Microsoft, Apple, Amazon and others to cut ties,” Cain told The Post.

You can read the full article HERE .

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Op-ed: Thanks to AI, Apple’s China problem is only getting worse

Mon, 02 Dec 2024 19:18:28 GMT

“For years, Tim Cook insisted Apple could change China from the inside. Instead, China changed Apple.” This is the cautionary tale explained in a new op-ed from TIP Policy Director Geoffrey Cain.

For years, Apple has complied with demands of the Chinese government, collaborated with Chinese companies in research ventures, and increased its reliance on Chinese manufacturing—all in pursuit of higher sales in the country’s market. But Apple’s strategy has backfired. Apple is now one of the most China-dependent major U.S. companies. China has leveraged Apple’s innovations to advance its geopolitical goals while using the company to perpetuate its authoritarian aims. As artificial intelligence reshapes the technological landscape, America’s leading tech companies face a choice between their stated values and their pursuit of profits.

You can read the full op-ed HERE .

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About Tech Integrity Project: The Tech Integrity Project works to protect the national security and economic competitiveness of the United States by preventing Big Tech companies from aiding America’s adversaries. The organization works to educate policymakers and the public about the problematic business activities of U.S. tech companies in China and other adversarial nations, including capital investment, overseas research, transfer of trade secrets, and selling access to sensitive technologies.

Commission Warns of Growing Chinese Tech Dominance

Thu, 21 Nov 2024 18:50:12 GMT

Earlier this week, the U.S.–China Economic and Security Review Commission released their Annual Report to Congress. The report highlights how the United States and China are in strategic competition to dominate the global technological landscape and how American companies are helping China progress in key emerging technologies.

Technological dominance is a priority for the Chinese government. One of the Commission’s key findings is that “The CCP is prioritizing research in key emerging technology areas such as AI, quantum technology, biotechnology, and batteries with the goal of becoming a world leader in science and technology,” and that President Xi is betting that such dominance will achieve China’s goal of becoming a superpower in the 21 ^st century.

Technological leadership is key to global leadership. The commission found that “[China’s] rapid technological progress threatens U.S. economic and military leadership and may erode deterrence and stability in the Pacific, as well as tip the global balance of power.”

American leadership is under threat. The Commission finds that the United States can claim leadership in artificial intelligence, for now, but China is making rapid progress. The Commission also finds that China is an “early leader” in quantum computing and is significantly ahead in advanced battery technology. TIP Policy Director Geoff Cain recently wrote an op-ed in The Hill on how Apple handed over key battery technology to Chinese electric vehicle champion BYD.

American companies should play no role in China’s advancement with emerging technologies. The report unfortunately highlights some examples of how China has been able to advance in key emerging technologies thanks to cooperation with American firms:

“Currently, both Microsoft and Amazon AWS operate cloud services in China, with Microsoft offering services under a wholly owned subsidiary of local company 21Vianet and AWS China partnering with local companies Sinnet and NWCD to offer data center services.”
“An Amazon executive for Greater China reportedly stated in June 2024 that AWS “is committed to long-term investments in China, and will focus on offering generative artificial intelligence technology and helping Chinese enterprises in their digital transformation.”
“Early gains in China’s AI models have been built on the foundations of U.S. technology”
“A survey from Biotechnology Innovation Organization, a trade association, found that of 124 U.S. biotech companies that responded, 79 percent had at least one contract or product agreement with firms based in China or owned by China for services such as gene sequencing, data management, and conducting clinical trials”

These are just a handful of examples where American corporate cooperation with China has supported their objective for technological superiority. TIP recently covered how Apple engaged in a billion dollar research endeavor with Chinese automaker BYD, advanced their battery technology. The Commission describes BYD as now being “a major player in the global EV market, dominating domestic and foreign firms in China’s EV market while surpassing Tesla in global sales of battery EVs in the last quarter of 2023.”

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Senate Judiciary Examines Risk of Big Tech’s Vulnerabilities from China

Tue, 19 Nov 2024 18:13:56 GMT

Yesterday, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing entitled “Big Hacks & Big Tech: China’s Cybersecurity Threat” that underscored the risks to American security directly caused by Big Tech’s cozy relationship with China. Tech Integrity Project lauds the Committee for creating a bipartisan venue to examine this important issue. Below are some highlights:

There is bipartisan recognition that American Big Tech Companies are sacrificing American security for profit.

Senator Richard Blumenthal:

“Even as Chinese companies undermine our national security, American ones often do the same. China has used economic coercion to enlist American companies for its own agenda. And we have given them a free pass far too often. Companies like Apple have acted as partners of the Chinese government to censor ideas and information in China. They blocked independent media, and they've helped the CCP crackdown on dissent, human rights and democratic values. But also our national and economic security are at stake as a result of China's leverage, its economic leverage, and these conflicts of interest involving American companies.”

Senator Josh Hawley:

“We face with China, a peer competitor of a kind that we frankly haven't seen in any of our lifetimes. And I hope it's also a wakeup call for these American corporations that, for too long, had been willing to sell out American jobs and America’s security interest in order to make a quick buck and, in so doing, have threatened all of us.”

Big Tech is invested in and dependent on China . Big Tech is reliant on China for manufacturing and sales. Senators asked what risks this creates for America.

Senator Josh Hawley:

“Mr. Stone Fish, let me come to you and pick up a line of questioning that I was starting to discuss with Mr. Bresnick. Here, we’ve got these companies, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Tesla, hugely, hugely invested in China and hugely dependent on China. And it would be one thing if they were run-of-the-mill, no-name companies.

But Apple, and Amazon, Microsoft, these are arguably—each of those three are—monopoly size companies that have significant control of vast sections of our consumer economy. So I guess my question is, how concerned should we be that 80% of Apple suppliers have a base in China, 95% of Apple’s key consumer products are manufactured in China, a third of Amazon’s suppliers are in China … Microsoft’s-China based research lab produces 10% of the company’s research output? Those are massive numbers. Should we be concerned about this? Or is this not relevant? I mean, are we panicking unnecessarily?”

Isaac Stone Fish:

“Thank you for bringing these issues up. I think this is incredibly important. And I think there’s this perception in DC that, ‘oh, everyone’s talking about China.’ We’re talking about it too much.

I don’t think we’re talking about this nearly enough. I am really appreciative that you brought up the potential for a Chinese invasion of Taiwan and a war with Taiwan. It’s our very strong belief that the businesses you mentioned have constantly underpriced the risk of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, and they’ve long underpriced the risk of their very heavy China exposure. There’s massive national security implications of the figures that you just described.

And I think US government agencies need to be really aware of the various different interests and influences inside these corporations. You know, we’re in an era of shareholder capitalism. And if it’s in Apple’s best financial interest to double down on China, where does that leave us?

And where does it leave Apple consumers who’s using an Apple laptop right here, but also the US government? I think this is especially the case with Microsoft and the US government’s relationship with Microsoft. And understanding that the depth of Microsoft’s entanglement with China and with the Chinese Communist Party poses very real supply chain and security risks. And these are things that big US companies absolutely need to disclose.”

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Senator Richard Blumenthal:

“Apple complies with China's censorship and surveillance demands, because 20% of its sales, and 80% of its suppliers are based in China. When forced to choose between American security and hugely profitable access to the Chinese market, Americans may doubt that SpaceX, Mr. Musk, Tim Cook, and other technology leaders will side with America.”

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Senator Richard Blumenthal:

“Do you think it's more the practical difficulty of relocating the supply provider? Or is it as Mr. Stone Fish suggested the fear of reprisals? You understand the question? In other words, Is it the logistical difficulty of moving a supplier or a source of supply out of China? Or is it the fear that there will be some kind of revenge from the Chinese government?”

Sam Bresnick:

“I think you could credibly argue it's both. I think it's very hard to logistically do this. And you see companies like Apple, for example, which has made an effort to make more of its iPhones in India, generally through Foxconn, a Taiwanese electronics manufacturing company, at the same time they're doing that, Tim Cook is going to China, and he's announcing new investments in China. So I think these things go hand-in-hand. There's a desire to stay in the good graces of the Chinese Communist Party, and there's a desire to actually make moves to reduce exposure.”

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TIP Urges DoD to Avoid AI Tainted by Adversaries

Mon, 29 Jul 2024 18:54:14 GMT

Comments Recommend Ways to Mitigate AI Supply Chain Risks from Big Tech Firms Operating in China subtitle for your new post

Washington, DC – The Tech Integrity Project recently submitted comments to the Department of Defense’s Request for Comments on “Defense Industrial Base Adoption of Artificial Intelligence for Defense Applications.” TIP’s comments highlight the supply chain risks posed by DoD adopting artificial intelligence (AI) products from U.S. companies, like Microsoft, entangled in China. Notably, Microsoft collaborates on AI research with entities affiliated with Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

“As DoD considers adopting AI for defense use cases, the Department should mitigate the risks posed by Big Tech’s operations in China,” said Geoffrey Cain, Policy Director at Tech Integrity Project. “AI developed by companies like Microsoft, that conduct AI research in China and collaborate with CCP-aligned firms, could open DoD’s supply chain to cybersecurity risks. The Department should exercise its considerable purchasing power to demand transparency about AI products from American firms—such as whether their models were trained on data from foreign adversaries—and ultimately require changes in foreign business practices as a condition of contracting with the agency.”

You can read TIP’s comments in full below or by clicking HERE

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About Tech Integrity Project: The Tech Integrity Project works to protect the national security and economic competitiveness of the United States by preventing Big Tech companies from aiding America’s adversaries. The organization works to educate presidential candidates and the public about the problematic business activities of U.S. tech companies in China and other adversarial nations, including capital investment, overseas research, transfer of trade secrets, and selling access to sensitive technologies.

Tech Integrity Project Commends Commerce IG’s Investigation into Counterstrategy on China’s Military-Civil Fusion

TIP@movestrategic.com (Stewart Crew) — Fri, 12 Jul 2024 19:07:43 GMT

Washington, DC – Earlier this week, the Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Commerce announced it was initiating an audit of the Bureau of Industry Security’s (BIS) efforts to combat China’s Military-Civil Fusion (MCF) program. Tech Integrity Project strongly supports this initiative. BIS’s role is critical to national security, and we must ensure that the agency is successfully combatting China’s attempts to steal U.S. innovations for their own military gain.

China’s MCF is a systematic initiative by the government of China to build a “world class” military by 2049 by integrating key private industries (artificial intelligence, 5G, biotechnology, big data, private universities, semiconductors, energy) with military objectives and needs. It further blends private industry and government in China. The Department of Defense releases annually a list of Chinese companies that it identifies as participating in MCF.

The Bureau of Industry and Security is an agency under the Department of Commerce that is responsible for issuing and enforcing export controls on dual-use technologies—technologies that are civilian in purpose but could have a potential military application, such as materials used for nuclear energy or advanced semiconductors. BIS’s imposition and enforcement of export restrictions is critical to ensure these technologies do not flow into adversarial countries for their misuse.

It is imperative that American companies and the federal government are on the same page with combatting China’s ambitions. Some American Big Tech companies have an unfortunate record of contracting with Chinese companies in support of PRC government objectives and even working to undermine U.S. export control policy:

Microsoft actively lobbied against upcoming regulations from BIS that would close a loophole in export controls, whereby otherwise restricted technologies through the cloud. Microsoft just recently announced that it would let Chinese companies exploit these loopholes.
Amazon provided cloud service to sanctioned Chinese surveillance technology firms.
Apple planned to use YTMC made semiconductors, despite evidence of military connections, for their next generation iPhones. YMTC was later designated as a MCF participant.

While it may take possibly years for the Inspector General to complete its audit, we appreciate their recognition of BIS and its important role to prevent American technology from ending up in the hands of the Chinese military.

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About Tech Integrity Project: The Tech Integrity Project works to protect the national security and economic competitiveness of the United States by preventing Big Tech companies from aiding America’s adversaries. The organization works to educate presidential candidates and the public about the problematic business activities of U.S. tech companies in China and other adversarial nations, including capital investment, overseas research, transfer of trade secrets, and selling access to sensitive technologies.

We’re calling on elected officials and candidates to sign our pledge . To stay updated and join our cause, click HERE .

INTERVIEW: Big Tech Sold Americans a Fairy Tale that Turned into a Nightmare

TIP@movestrategic.com (Stewart Crew) — Fri, 28 Jun 2024 15:24:04 GMT

TIP Policy Director joined Michael Sobolik on the American Foreign Policy Council’s Great Power Podcast to discuss the compromises American Big Tech companies have made to access China’s market, and why they’ve stayed despite the mounting security risks.

The Motive

“They have every reason to go work in China because China is a highly profitable market, and that means better dividends and better returns for shareholders.”

“China has 1.2 billion potential users. If you're Microsoft and you want to get more people using Windows, that's 1.2 billion people potentially using PCs and tablets and so forth. And if you can get them on Microsoft software, that's an enormously profitable market. Same holds true for Amazon. Amazon Web Services, a cloud computing service, does a lot of work in China.”

The Story

“The story of American big tech in China is them trying to go there, thinking that if we go and open the checkbook and show them all this wonderful global technology, China will become a liberal democracy. Its authoritarian system will evolve as the middle class, the bourgeoisie class, rises and demands better rights. Sort of a textbook case of liberalization since the 1980s.

That was a bill of goods that never happened. It was a bald lie that was sold by our elites in technology and business who wanted us to believe that this was a good idea. What actually happened is that big tech companies had to make concessions to China, and they had to take a vow of silence.

So that's why Microsoft is doing all of this very questionable, shady activity in China. But they'll go before Congress and make statements that are very close to misrepresentations that just seem off based on what the body of evidence says out there. They're loyal equally to the Chinese flag and to the American flag. And that is a major conflict of interest.”

You can listen to the podcast below or in full HERE .

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About Tech Integrity Project: The Tech Integrity Project works to protect the national security and economic competitiveness of the United States by preventing Big Tech companies from aiding America’s adversaries. The organization works to educate presidential candidates and the public about the problematic business activities of U.S. tech companies in China and other adversarial nations, including capital investment, overseas research, transfer of trade secrets, and selling access to sensitive technologies.

Op-Ed: Patriotism over profit: The US can’t allow Big Tech to sell out to China

TIP@movestrategic.com (Stewart Crew) — Mon, 17 Jun 2024 15:46:47 GMT

“When it comes to emerging technology, you cannot be both in China’s camp and our camp.” This is the choice American Big Tech companies are trying to avoid, according to a new op-ed by TIP Policy Director Geoffrey Cain that published in The Hill.

Whether it is Amazon providing machine learning technology to affiliates of the Chinese military, or Microsoft lobbying against rules to cut off the Chinese government’s access to artificial intelligence, “American Big Tech companies have long shown that they won’t voluntarily prioritize U.S. national security over profits. They must be forced or pressured to do the right thing. “

You can read the full op-ed HERE .

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Flashback: Op-Ed Exposes Microsoft’s Role in Advancing China’s AI Surveillance State

TIP@movestrategic.com (Stewart Crew) — Sat, 11 May 2024 15:49:40 GMT

An op-ed published last year by TIP Policy Director Geoffrey Cain year sheds light on Microsoft’s decades-long collaboration with China, detailing the company’s role in building the AI infrastructure now weaponized by the Chinese Communist Party. It reveals Microsoft’s research and partnerships have enabled the development of surveillance technologies used in human rights abuses, including the internment of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang.

“Microsoft’s involvement with China’s AI development isn’t just a historical issue; it’s an ongoing problem with significant national security implications,” said Geoffrey Cain. “The U.S. must investigate the extent to which Microsoft’s actions have contributed to this threat.”

You can read the full op-ed HERE .

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TIP to DOJ: When it comes to China, Apple Can’t Have it Both Ways

TIP@movestrategic.com (Stewart Crew) — Thu, 21 Mar 2024 19:10:47 GMT

Washington, DC – Tech Integrity Project joined a coalition letter , urging the Department of Justice to hold Apple accountable for its abusive App Store practices, including how the tech giant caters to the Chinese Communist Party. The letter, addressed to Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust Jonathan Kanter, notes that Apple applies a double standard in managing the App Store, ignoring the concerns of American app developers while enthusiastically complying with diktats from Beijing.

As the letter highlights:

[W]hile Apple has long discarded the concerns of American app developers, the company has been happy to modify its App Store policies to appease the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) regime. Last year, it was reported that Apple would acquiesce to China’s demands for apps on the App Store to list their Beijing-designated Internet Content Provider (ICP) filing number. In doing so, Apple closed one of Chinese citizens’ only avenues to access, through VPN, apps banned by the Communist regime. It’s worth noting that this came just three years after Apple removed some 39,000 apps on the App Store in China in a single day to appease the government. This only scrapes the surface of Apple’s advocacy on behalf of Beijing: in 2020, the company tried to wield its lobbying might in D.C. to weaken legislation to stop forced labor in the Xinjiang region.

" It’s fitting that just as this lawsuit dropped, Tim Cook had been in Shanghai touting more investment in China and boasting Apple’s supply chain there as its most important," said Geoffrey Cain, Policy Director at Tech Integrity Project. "As a company that was founded in America and saw monumental growth because of our free system, it is shameful how Apple bends to the demands of the CCP. The hypocrisy is stark. Apple fights virtually every request from an American app developer, citing security and other concerns to maintain its walled garden. But the walls come crumbling down as soon as Beijing calls. Apple simply cannot have it both ways—preaching the virtues of cybersecurity while letting the CCP exert control over its products. To the extent that Apple’s market position enables or exacerbates this behavior, we support the DOJ investigating the company.”

You can read the full letter by clicking HERE .

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About Tech Integrity Project: The Tech Integrity Project works to protect the national security and economic competitiveness of the United States by preventing Big Tech companies from aiding America’s adversaries. The organization works to educate presidential candidates and the public about the problematic business activities of U.S. tech companies in China and other adversarial nations, including capital investment, overseas research, transfer of trade secrets, and selling access to sensitive technologies.

We’re calling on elected officials and candidates to sign our pledge . To stay updated and join our cause, click HERE .

INTERVIEW: The Risk is Real. Don't Let Big Tech Hand your Data to China

Wed, 20 Mar 2024 14:32:15 GMT

Data is a valuable commodity actively sought after by the Chinese government. The risk of having that data stolen and used against is not a hypothetical threat, but a reality.

TIP Policy Director Geoffrey Cain joined KNSI's Hot Talk with The Ox to

Dan "Ox" Ochsner: For those who believe that it doesn't matter, 'I don't have anything to hide, why do I care?" How do you address that?

Geoffrey Cain: Well that's like saying you don't believe in free speech because you have nothing to say. Free speech is something that is important and dear to us in the same way that our privacy is important as citizens of American democracy. We have due process, we have the Constitution, and we live in a society where we are supposed to have control over our privacy, over our data, and the watchful eyes of a hostile foreign government should not have access to that. That is simply anti-American and is anti-democracy. It is something we should be against.

Dan "Ox" Ochsner: Expound upon the notion, lets drill down deeper to a basic level. How is the Chinese spying on my shopping habits, where I go on vacation, how I communicate with my friends, why is that detrimental to national security as a whole?

Geoffrey Cain: Well what is happening is that the Chinese government, Chinese companies are using apps such as TikTok. It is a company that is based in America, but it owned by a firm called ByteDance. ByteDance is on the largest tech giants in the world. TikTok has been one of the most popular apps in America, especially Gen Z, teenagers. The concern is that the Chinese government can scoop up all this data, and this is so much data on everyone who uses it in America, and they can use that against us. Sending back through their algorithms, they can manipulate information, they can manipulate the news. A lot of teenagers today only use TikTok as their source of news. And so they might be getting blasted with Chinese propaganda.

INTERVIEW: TIP's Geoffrey Cain Joins the Laura Coates Show

Tue, 19 Mar 2024 14:32:15 GMT

TIP Policy Director Geoffrey Cain joined Laura Coates to discuss

INTERVIEW: We Need to Do More To Get Big Tech Under the Flag of America.

TIP@movestrategic.com (Stewart Crew) — Mon, 15 Jan 2024 15:53:48 GMT

TIP Policy Director Geoffrey Cain joined KMZQ's Kevin Wall Radio Show to call on U.S. companies end their love affairs with China.

Host Kevin Wall:

"Do you trust big tech to do the right thing?"

Geoffrey Cain:

"Big Tech has shown that it will pursue it's own interests. It will throw America under the bus if it needs to. We need to do more to get big tech under the flag of America. The fact of the matter is if you are company founded and operating here in America, your allegiance should be to American principles, American democracy, and the American way of life. I think these private tech companies going to these overseas authoritarian regimes and trying to set up shop in China compromises them and they need to stay true to their values. They can't work for both sides when both sides are moving apart. They have to chose their allegiance and have to chose their flag. And the authoritarian Chinese government must not be their allegiance. That is dangerous."

Geoffrey Cain also discussed how the issue is impacting presidential campaigns

Host Kevin Wall:

"You mentioned presidential candidates, are they talking enough about China at this point?"

Geoffrey Cain:

"There has been a lot of good talk about China, the threats of China. I think we have seen more and more candidates get on with this particular topic because they are realizing more and more that China does pose a major threat and there are major US companies helping the Chinese Communist Party. So we do have a pledge that we've asked candidates to sign. So far Governor Ron DeSantis has been the first to sign."

"We have been on the campaign trail, talking to campaigns, and people seem receptive. This has become an election issue, our polling shows voters are deeply concerned about this."

You can listen to the full interview by clicking HERE , beginning at 8:29

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INTERVIEW: China Wants to Compete with Us, We Can't Give Them a Leg Up.

TIP@movestrategic.com (Stewart Crew) — Tue, 09 Jan 2024 15:48:48 GMT

Former Lieutenant Governor Andre Bauer and TIP Policy Director Geoffrey Cain appeared on WTKN's Saturday Morning Coffee, hosted by Reese Boyd, to explain the threat of sharing technological expertise with China.

"The Chinese Communist Party wants to end democracy, it is their goal. And American companies are actively helping the CCP achieve their goals. In one example, a recent investigation found that Microsoft engaged in a partnership with Chinese state media companies to develop software that spreads their message." said TIP Policy Director Geoffrey Cain.

"We don't know the full ramifications of AI, but make no mistake, all of our lives will be affected by it. Our gains in this technology can not be shared with an adversary" Said fmr. Governor Andre Bauer.

You can listen to the full interview by clicking HERE , starting at 22:13.

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Nikki Haley Signs Tech Integrity Project Pledge

TIP@movestrategic.com (Stewart Crew) — Fri, 05 Jan 2024 14:41:00 GMT

Des Moines, IA – Presidential candidate Nikki Haley, former Ambassador to the United Nations, has signed the Tech Integrity Project’s pledge to stop American Big Tech companies from helping our adversaries advance their critical technologies and deploy them against us. The pledge reads:

“If elected to office, I pledge to prevent foreign investments of U.S. tech companies from aiding our adversaries , like the Chinese Communist Party, and harming America’s economic competitiveness and national security.

Specifically, I will do everything in my power to block adversaries from benefitting from U.S.-made next-gen technologies , such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and quantum computing.”

We are grateful to Ambassador Haley for pledging to ensure that U.S.-based companies put America first.

Our polling shows that voters care deeply about the threat. 90% of South Carolina primary voters are concerned with Big Tech’s involvement in China. The next president must eliminate these threats and keep the United States the leader in next-gen technology.

To learn more about the Tech Integrity Project’s mission, click here .

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About Tech Integrity Project: The Tech Integrity Project works to protect the national security and economic competitiveness of the United States by preventing Big Tech companies from aiding America’s adversaries. The organization works to educate presidential candidates and the public about the problematic business activities of U.S. tech companies in China and other adversarial nations, including capital investment, overseas research, transfer of trade secrets, and selling access to sensitive technologies.

We’re calling on presidential candidates to sign our pledge . To stay updated and join our cause, click HERE .

INTERVIEW: TIP Joins the Federalist's Radio Hour

TIP@movestrategic.com (Stewart Crew) — Tue, 19 Dec 2023 18:54:14 GMT

TIP Policy Director Geoffrey Cain joined the Federalist Radio Hour podcast to discuss how American tech companies have enabled the CCP's surveillance state through cooperation and investment with Chinese enterprises.

"The surveillance state that China created was also an American problem. American Big Tech companies are the ones that are working there, that are selling them these technologies, that are helping the state do what it wants to do. It really is a horrific situation and we haven't done enough to address it."

"China wants to export this [surveillance state] too. This is not something that is limited only to China anymore. We've seen in the past five years with the expansion of AI, the expansion of facial recognition, new advances in semiconductor technology. We've seen how far the CCP wants to go to export this tech and what they want to do with the tech as well."

"China is making more and more in-roads, and there are more and more of these companies coming here but also American companies still going over there and opening up shop and helping the CCP obtain these goals."

American companies should never be an accomplice to the authoritarian objectives of foreign countries, especially when those objectives include threatening the economic and national security of the United States.

You can listen to the full interview below or by clicking HERE .

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About Tech Integrity Project: The Tech Integrity Project works to protect the national security and economic competitiveness of the United States by preventing Big Tech companies from aiding America’s adversaries. The organization works to educate presidential candidates and the public about the problematic business activities of U.S. tech companies in China and other adversarial nations, including capital investment, overseas research, transfer of trade secrets, and selling access to sensitive technologies.

We’re calling on elected officials and candidates for office to sign our pledge . To stay updated and join our cause, click HERE .The body content of your post goes here. To edit this text, click on it and delete this default text and start typing your own or paste your own from a different source.

Governor DeSantis Signs Tech Integrity Project Pledge

TIP@movestrategic.com (Stewart Crew) — Tue, 05 Dec 2023 17:38:23 GMT

Des Moines, IA – Today, Tech Integrity Project announced that Governor Ron DeSantis, candidate for President of the United States, has signed the organization’s pledge to stop American Big Tech companies from aiding our foreign adversaries:

“ If elected to office, I pledge to prevent foreign investments of U.S. tech companies from aiding our adversaries , like the Chinese Communist Party, and harming America’s economic competitiveness and national security.

Specifically, I will do everything in my power to block adversaries from benefiting from U.S.-made next-gen technologies , such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and quantum computing. ”

We welcome this news and look forward to other candidates signing the pledge. This is an issue that voters care about. It is critical that the next president take action to prevent our homegrown tech companies like Microsoft, Amazon, and Apple from helping adversaries develop critical and sensitive technologies. Our national security, and economic competitiveness, depend on it.

To learn more about the Tech Integrity Project, click here .

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About Tech Integrity Project: The Tech Integrity Project works to protect the national security and economic competitiveness of the United States by preventing Big Tech companies from aiding America’s adversaries. The organization works to educate presidential candidates and the public about the problematic business activities of U.S. tech companies in China and other adversarial nations, including capital investment, overseas research, transfer of trade secrets, and selling access to sensitive technologies.

We’re calling on presidential candidates to sign our pledge . To stay updated and join our cause, click HERE .

PRESS RELEASE: Governor DeSantis Signs Tech Integrity Project Pledge

Tue, 05 Dec 2023 14:32:15 GMT

“If elected to office, I pledge to prevent foreign investments of U.S. tech companies from aiding our adversaries, like the Chinese Communist Party, and harming America’s economic competitiveness and national security.

Specifically, I will do everything in my power to block adversaries from benefiting from U.S.-made next-gen technologies, such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and quantum computing.”

To learn more about the Tech Integrity Project, click here .

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About Tech Integrity Project: The Tech Integrity Project works to protect the national security and economic competitiveness of the United States by preventing Big Tech companies from aiding America’s adversaries. The organization works to educate presidential candidates and the public about the problematic business activities of U.S. tech companies in China and other adversarial nations, including capital investment, overseas research, transfer of trade secrets, and selling access to sensitive technologies.

We’re calling on presidential candidates to sign our pledge . To stay updated and join our cause, click HERE .

REPORT: Microsoft Inked Deals With Chinese Communist Party Propaganda Outlets, Documents Show

TIP@movestrategic.com (Stewart Crew) — Mon, 04 Dec 2023 20:39:58 GMT

TIP Policy Director Geoff Cain appeared in a recent story published by the Washington Free Beacon detailing how Microsoft helped Chinese state-run media outlets disseminate propaganda as part of previously unreported partnership agreements.

The nation’s second largest corporation signed collaboration deals with state-run Chinese media outlets including China Daily and People’s Daily, the latter of which is the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Chinese government. Summaries of the deal state Microsoft would provide China Daily with technology that lets the paper target potential readers and gave the People’s Daily access to an artificial intelligence bot specially designed to be controlled and censored by the Chinese Communist Party.

These deals have not been widely reported outside of China, nor have the financial terms been disclosed. A spokeswoman for Microsoft said both agreements "expired years ago and were not renewed." But experts say the fact that Microsoft inked the deals at all is a major win for the Chinese Communist Party.

Op-ed: Presidential candidates must pledge to take on China

TIP@movestrategic.com (Stewart Crew) — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 16:36:12 GMT

Former Lieutenant Governor Andre Bauer penned an op-ed in Charleston's Post and Courier that calls on candidates to take the TIP Pledge .

"The great technology contest between America and China will shape the 21st century. Yet U.S tech firms undermine national competitiveness through their troubling ties to Beijing. Amazon builds the computational cloud behind China’s authoritarian surveillance state. Apple kowtows to Xi Jinping by storing its China customer data on Chinese servers, accessible to the government."

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Op-ed: Iowa is Center Stage to call out Big Tech's Coziness with China

TIP@movestrategic.com (Stewart Crew) — Thu, 16 Nov 2023 21:40:01 GMT

With less than two months before the 2024 Iowa Caucus, TIP Executive Director Logan Shine writes in the Iowa Standard why presidential candidates should pledge action against the Big Tech companies who are helping to undermine America's technological leadership:

"This issue touches Iowans directly. China is on a mission to control the basic technologies that will form the foundation of Iowa’s future economy, including self-driving cars, industrial automation, and precision agriculture powered by AI. By collaborating with China today, Big Tech hamstrings Iowa tomorrow, preventing our state from developing the innovations that will sustain American jobs and competitiveness.

"Electing candidates committed to technological strength and security will demonstrate America’s resolve. It will force China to reconsider its aggressive policies, from military intimidation to economic coercion. History shows us the way: Technological leadership ensured America’s triumph in the 20th century Cold War against communism. And that same leadership — powered by American values and protected from American adversaries — will ensure freedom’s victory in the 21st century as well."

We encourage all candidates for President to take our pledge HERE .You can read the full op-ed HERE .

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RELEASE: TIP Launches Major Ad Campaign in Iowa and South Carolina

TIP@movestrategic.com (Stewart Crew) — Thu, 02 Nov 2023 15:58:12 GMT

Des Moines—Today, Tech Integrity Project launched a major advertising campaign in Iowa and South Carolina to educate voters and presidential candidates on the dangers posed by American Big Tech companies’ business dealings with U.S. adversaries, particularly Communist China. The $500,000 television and radio ad buy will cover a range of population centers across the two states, including major media markets—Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Sioux City in Iowa and Greenville, Columbia, and Charleston in South Carolina.

“We’re thrilled to announce this ad campaign, which will bring Tech Integrity Project’s message to early primary voters and presidential candidates at a key juncture in the race,” said Logan Shine, Executive Director of Tech Integrity Project. “Whoever wins the battle for next-gen technology will rule the 21 ^st century, and it is critical that our candidates pledge to prevent America’s largest and most powerful tech companies—like Microsoft, Apple, and Amazon—from aiding China and other adversaries who seek to unseat U.S. technological leadership. This campaign will ensure this vital issue remains top of mind for voters and candidates alike.”

A poll commissioned by Tech Integrity Project shows the vast majority of Republican primary voters are concerned about Big Tech’s involvement in China, including 95% in Iowa and 90% in South Carolina. Voters also want their preferred candidate to sign Tech Integrity Project’s pledge , which reads:

If elected to office, I pledge to prevent foreign investments of U.S. tech companies from aiding our adversaries, like the Chinese Communist Party, and harming America’s economic competitiveness and national security.

Specifically, I will do everything in my power to block adversaries from benefitting from U.S.-made next-gen technologies, such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and quantum computing.

INTERVIEW: Iowans Care where Big Tech Stands; so should Presidential Candidates

TIP@movestrategic.com (Stewart Crew) — Sat, 30 Sep 2023 15:25:07 GMT

Earlier this week Tech Integrity Project Executive Director Logan Shine appeared on 600 WMT’s Doug Wagner Show to promote the mission of the Tech Integrity Project.

The interview highlights how Iowans are passionate about hold big tech accountable for risking American security and economic prosperity by doing business with foreign adversaries, like China:

“Our polling indicates this is a serious issue that people do care about. We have 82% of voters nationally express the concern about big tech aiding our adversaries, and that goes up to 95% when we talk to Iowans.”

Additionally, our interview highlights the grassroots work done by the Tech Integrity Project to involve Iowans and state legislators with our cause:

“We had a great reception at the Faith and Freedom Conference. We were able to sign up tons of Iowans, a couple legislators for our effort. And I would encourage all of your listeners to visit www.techintegrityproject.org ”

You can listen to the interview HERE

INTERVIEW: Big Tech Blossomed in America, so their Business should Benefit America First

TIP@movestrategic.com (Stewart Crew) — Mon, 25 Sep 2023 15:27:00 GMT

Last week Tech Integrity Project executive director Logan Shine appeared on NewsTalk KXEL to brief listeners in Iowa on the risks that come from American tech companies conducting business in China.

“When we look at these American tech companies take for Apple, Amazon, a lot of these companies started in garages across America and now they're cutting sweetheart deals with China and our adversaries. And they're reaping huge profits. With that they're selling sensitive trade secrets and other technologies. First and foremost, they're helping them develop artificial intelligence. So it really presents a dual loyalty.”

“AI is quickly developing in next five years. And that is going to determine the trajectory of the 21st century. The country that dominates in next-gen technologies will hold a significant advantage in shaping the global power dynamics. China wants it to be them. And so we need an all hands on deck approach, and that is including American tech companies operating over there.”

You can listen to the interview listening below or clicking HERE

REPORT: Republican Primary Voters Concerned by Big Tech Coordination with China

TIP@movestrategic.com (Stewart Crew) — Wed, 23 Aug 2023 16:04:05 GMT

A new poll commissioned by Tech Integrity Project found that Republican Primary voters are aware of Big Tech’s coordination with China, are concerned about its implications for national security, and want to see action to stop it.

Republican Primary Voters Are Aware of Big Tech Coordination with China

Over half (55%) of Republican primary voters are aware of Big Tech’s coordination with China.
Republican primary voters in Iowa and South Carolina are more aware of the issue.
83% of Iowa Caucus-goers are aware and 46% say they are strongly aware.
76% of South Carolina primary voters are aware.

A Vast Majority of Republican Primary Voters Are Concerned About Big Tech Involvement with China

Over eight-in-ten (82%) Republican primary voters nationally are concerned about Big Tech’s involvement with China, including 95% of Republican primary voters in Iowa and 90% of Republican primary voters in South Carolina.
In Iowa, only 1% of Republican primary voters say they are not that or not at all concerned, and in South Carolina only 4% say the same.

Republican Primary Voters are Motivated to Take Action on Big Tech

When asked whether they would participate in a boycott against Big Tech if they were revealed to have major ties to the Chinese military and CCP in AI development, 68% of voters said they were very or somewhat likely to participate.
Iowa Caucus-goers were particularly motivated, with 71% being very likely to participate.

Republican Primary Voters Want Presidential Candidates to Take Action

Do you support or oppose your preferred candidate in the 2024 Republican primary or caucus for President signing this petition?

Three-quarters of Republican primary voters nationally support their candidate to sign the petition, including 46% who strongly support it. Only 3% of voters oppose their candidate signing the petition.
In Iowa, 86% of Republican primary voters support the petition, including 69% who strongly support it.
Support in South Carolina is high as well, with 78% supporting the petition, and 63% strongly supporting it.

Methodology

Our researchers selected a random sample of registered voters nationally from state voter files using Registration Based Sampling (RBS). The sample for this survey was stratified based on geography, age, gender, partisanship, and education. Respondents were contacted via online panel from July 14-18, 2023. The study has a sample size of n=1,000 Republican primary voters with a margin of error of ±3.1% in 95 out of 100 cases. The oversamples in Iowa and South Carolina were contacted via SMS (text-to-web), with a sample size of n=300.

ARTICLE: Tech Integrity Project Hits the Ground in Iowa

TIP@movestrategic.com (Stewart Crew) — Thu, 17 Aug 2023 15:20:48 GMT

Yesterday, the Tech Integrity Project was featured in the Cedar Rapids Gazette where we outlined our vision and strategy for the organization.

“The Tech Integrity Project intends to engage with Republican presidential candidates and Iowans ahead of the caucuses, to raise concerns about potential trade secrets and national security risks from U.S. companies operating in China”

“The group has a pledge it wants Republican candidates to sign promising to ‘do everything in my power to block adversaries from benefiting from U.S.-made next-gen technologies, such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and quantum computing.’”

You can read the full article HERE