Internet of Things: Geopolitical Battleground

Akihabara News (Tokyo) — China’s industrial dominance of the Internet of Things (IoT) via tech giants closely linked to the state has been cited as a central national security concern for the West. China considers this stance one of unjust politicization aiming to undermine its success on the global stage.

IoT refers to objects containing components or software which wirelessly share data with similar devices or a central system. It could be something as simple as an automatic alert to refill an empty vending machine to extraordinarily complex systems running a nation’s surveillance camera network, or mechanisms to ensure the efficient management of smart power grids. In all cases, IoT devices regularly collect vast amounts of information.

In July, a cross-party group of about sixty UK lawmakers petitioned their government to ban the domestic use and sale of Chinese surveillance equipment. The legislators argued that the technology’s principal provider, Hikvision, was tied to China’s ongoing human rights abuses in Xinjiang.

Calls for similar action have also been raised in New Zealand, which relies heavily on Hikvison IoT devices.

Speaking to the press in New Zealand, a Hikvison spokesperson responded by criticizing the West’s increased scrutiny on its products: “Any such decisions should be based on credible evidence and due process instead of being driven by a geopolitical agenda.”

These moves in the United Kingdom and New Zealand echo proposed US sanctions on the company and similar Chinese state-owned enterprises.

Beijing has long spoken out regarding similar moves to restrict Huawei and its dominant role within the 5G industry, which is part of the foundational infrastructure for IoT products. In July 2020, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying argued “decisions to ban Huawei are not about national security, but political manipulation.”

For their part, both the United States and United Kingdom have asserted that their policy on Huawei is motivated entirely by national security concerns and is informed by the advice of intelligence and cybersecurity experts.

These Western nations fear that allowing Huawei to exercise control of IoT infrastructure will enhance Beijing’s global influence.

This influence could be, ironically, very much akin to the US National Security Agency’s PRISM, a controversial program of widespread online surveillance achieved by intercepting communications across the IoT industry through companies such as Google.

In other words, the West does not want Beijing to exercise international power in the same way which it does.

Chinese companies Fibocom, Quectel, and the entirely state-owned China Mobile represent over half of the current global IoT market. Their major customers include Dell, Intel, and Tesla, which also use China-made IoT modules and components in their own products.

There has yet to be any publicly proven case of China wielding its IoT influence in an illegitimate manner, though accusations that it is doing so are not few in number.
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