INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING

Chinese Regime Website Boasts of Influence on U.S. Think-Tanks & Social Media Leaders

• The Cyberspace Administration of China, a government entity that promotes Chinese Communist propaganda, boasts on its website about using the state-controlled China Daily to build relationships with opinion-makers in the U.S.
• The website says it has promoted over 10,000 articles and collaborates with prominent think-tanks like Berggruen Institute in the U.S. The Institute’s Council members include Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, CNN host Fareed Zakaria and Arianna Huffington, creator of Huffington Post.
• The Berggruen Institute’s public list of partners also includes various other Chinese government entities like the Chinese Association on Artificial Intelligence and Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

CONGRESS

Senators Question Tech Companies About Selling Data to Foreign Entities

• A bipartisan group of 6 senators are demanding answers from 8 companies including Verizon, Twitter, Google and AT&T about whether digital advertisers who auction for ad-space are acquiring sensitive data about Americans and selling that data to foreign companies that could pose a security risk.
• Hundreds of companies participate in auctions to bid for targeted ad placement and receive data about the users who could see their ads.
• “This information would be a goldmine for foreign intelligence services that could exploit it to inform and supercharge hacking, blackmail and influence campaigns,” the senators stated.