The Spread of Chinese Surveillance Tools in Africa

Abstract

This chapter examines the introduction of Chinese surveillance technologies in Kenya and Ethiopia. Unlike most studies that focus on supply factors, the chapter explores the quality of local and global features in the spread of Chinese surveillance tools. It analyses surveillance technologies as a dynamic social process. Drawing attention to the often-neglected Chinese operations in Kenya and Ethiopia helps to expand our understanding of how China’s growing geopolitical footprint in Africa is mediated by local conditions and actors. I argue that Beijing’s “no strings attached” strategy is a beguiling posture – systematically presenting China as an affable development partner towards African governments while also deemphasising economic asymmetries and its bias towards state actors. In Ethiopia, China’s tendency to privilege state actors risks undermining citizens’ rights. Even in a more democratic Kenya, the bolstering of state power reinforces the ambitions of the state that can benefit from utilising digital technologies to conduct surveillance for political and commercial ends. The absence of robust and clear regulatory data and privacy measures leaves people vulnerable to the misuse of ostensibly neutral surveillance technologies.