Whenever I see threads and comments about privacy-related or sensitive topics, I often see concerns about China in particular stealing all that data.
Why is China, a country across a vast ocean, is seen as a bigger threat in that regard than US itself? Unlike Chinese, the local government does have power over its residents and can actually use this information against you (and it does have a record for doing exactly that). The only places where Chinese espionage would be a concern (military, high-tech industry) lay way beyond what an everyday American faces regularly.
So, is it a new red scare, or is there a substance behind it that I fail to see?
There are two considerations.
For the American government and corporations, Chinese espionage is an obvious and real threat. NVidia doesn’t want China to steal their chip designs and the Pentagon doesn’t want China to steal military info.
For American private citizens, it isn’t really a threat. It’s actually preferable in a way, because you know they won’t disclose whatever they learn to the American government. You might even consider buying a fully “designed and made in China” device, which the NSA might not have a backdoor to.
This only makes it more concerning to the American government, because they lose control over their citizens.
Don’t worry, fellow Americans! A hostile foreign country manipulating your government does not concern you.
The threat to American citizens is that they are steered away from their own interests and the interest of furthering democracy throughout the world because they see a curated feed that excludes information critical of China and amplifies information that promotes China as a country of harmony, peace, and prosperity.
And in some cases, the trends amplified on Chinese social media apps directly fuel American political division.