'Autocrats Are Collaborating on Next-Generation Internet Controls' I wrote about #China, #Iran, networked authoritarianism, & future frontiers of digital repression for the NED Forum, drawing on the recent @article19.bsky.social Tightening the Net report thinkdemocracy.substack.com/p/autocrats-...

Autocrats Are Collaborating on Next-Generation Internet Controls. Michael Caster Unpacks the Implications.

Satellite-based connectivity, open-source AI models, and other innovative technologies are transforming how people around the world share their views and access information.

thinkdemocracy.substack.com

Congratulations to Associated Press journalists @dakekang.bsky.social, @garanceburke.bsky.social, @byrontau.bsky.social, Aniruddha Ghosal and contributor @yaelwrites.com for their reporting on the expansion of government surveillance in #China and US company complicity. apnews.com/article/puli...

Associated Press global investigation into government surveillance efforts wins Pulitzer Prize

The Associated Press has won a Pulitzer Prize for international reporting for stories on the expansion of government surveillance efforts in China and the role that U.S. tech firms played in it.

apnews.com

China Requires Disclosure of Detailed Information About Internet Usage by IETF Participants www.sepessentials.com/post/china-r...

China Requires Disclosure of Detailed Information About Internet Usage by IETF Participants

I have long been concerned that the current state of geopolitics and internecine competition within standards bodies has begun to negatively impact the development and implementation of important glob...

sepessentials.com

The cancellation of RightsCon shows just how far China’s influence now reaches. As @mcaster.bsky.social writes, while the cancellation is a tragedy, we should hope it "inspires a true reckoning with China’s influence and leads to meaningful cross-movement coordination." dtl.tw/techpolicy-a...

China's Disruption of RightsCon is a Wake-Up Call To Counter Its Authoritarian Influence

RightsCon’s cancellation should inspire a reckoning with China’s influence, writes Michael Caster, head of the Global China Program at ARTICLE 19.

dtl.tw

RightsCon 2026 in Zambia Cancelled Under Pressure from China "'At a time when this sector is already under immense financial and political strain, what we and our community forcefully experienced is unprecedented and existential.'"

RightsCon 2026 in Zambia Cancelled Under Pressure from China

RightsCon, the world’s largest digital human rights conference, was forced to cancel its 2026 conference just days before it was to convene in the Zambian capital of Lusaka, reportedly due to Chinese ...

chinadigitaltimes.net

On World Press Freedom Day: Free speech and free press issues are usually framed around the rights of the speaker or newsroom. @davidakaye.bsky.social explains it's also about your right to know — and who is reshaping those rights (hint: Big Tech). ⬇️ Clip below ➡️ full video: bit.ly/dw-pressfreedom

RightsCon's cancellation marks a major escalation in transnational repression and is a testament to China’s influence on global digital rights far beyond its borders, writes Article19's Michael Caster. He calls for a true reckoning with China’s influence and meaningful cross-movement coordination.

China's Disruption of RightsCon is a Wake-Up Call To Counter Its Authoritarian Influence

RightsCon’s cancellation should inspire a reckoning with China’s influence, writes Michael Caster, head of the Global China Program at ARTICLE 19.

techpolicy.press

#China's Disruption of RightsCon is a Wake-Up Call To Counter Its Authoritarian Influence, I write at @techpolicypress.bsky.social www.techpolicy.press/chinas-disru...

China's Disruption of RightsCon is a Wake-Up Call To Counter Its Authoritarian Influence

RightsCon’s cancellation should inspire a reckoning with China’s influence, writes Michael Caster, head of the Global China Program at ARTICLE 19.

techpolicy.press

I wrote about RightsCon's cancellation after Zambia's government announced it would postpone the event to sort out its concerns over "thematic issues." With thousands about to depart (or already en route) to Lusaka, it's a huge blow to the digital and human rights field.

RightsCon Canceled After Zambia Requires ‘Full Alignment’ With 'National Values'

Organizers canceled the event just days before thousands were set to descend on Lusaka to discuss issues at the intersection of technology and human rights.

techpolicy.press

China’s own Mythos is coming — America must prepare The US needs to block Chinese access to the most advanced technology Chris McGuire www.ft.com/content/ea8c...

China’s own Mythos is coming — America must prepare

The US needs to block Chinese access to the most advanced technology

ft.com

The recent decision by a major UK museum, the Victoria & Albert, to comply with Chinese censors is emblematic of broader trends in information manipulation & interference targeting European cultural institutions that must be challenged, @article19.bsky.social www.article19.org/resources/eu...

Europe: China’s censorship of cultural institutions must be challenged - ARTICLE 19

Governments and cultural institutions in Europe must challenge attempts from China to close down exhibitions and censor publications.

article19.org

Last month I wrote about the latest Five Year Plan and how #China’s drive for global leadership in AI and cybersecurity threatens free expression and information integrity around the world. @thediplomat.com thediplomat.com/2026/03/the-...

The export of China's Great Firewall model is on the rise. Cyber sovereignty has has 'gained traction in autocratic states,’ says ARTICLE 19's @mcaster.bsky.social – ‘and we’re unfortunately seeing similar language in democratic countries too.’ www.theglobeandmail.com/world/articl...

Leaked files show a Chinese company is exporting the Great Firewall’s censorship technology

Geedge Networks is providing censorship capabilities to foreign governments, including those in Myanmar, Pakistan, Ethiopia and Kazakhstan

theglobeandmail.com

What does China’s influence in digital governance and cybersecurity say about its wider global ambitions? ARTICLE 19’s Michael Caster outlines the threats to democracy and human rights – and what the international community can do to protect free speech. podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/t...

The Growth of Chinese Digital Norms

Podcast Episode · The Fletcher Forum Podcast · 09/08/2025 · 45m

podcasts.apple.com

#UK: RSF and press freedom NGOs, including Article 19, urge State Secretary Lisa Nandy to pause and investigate the planned #Telegraph sale to an investor with reported close ties to the Chinese regime, warning robust safeguards are vital to protect editorial independence.

We join @article19.bsky.social, @rsf.org and others in an open letter to Lisa Nandy raising urgent concerns over the potential acquisition of the Telegraph Media Group by RedBird Capital, in light of ties to #China: www.article19.org/resources/op...

UK: Investigate potential Chinese influence in Telegraph acquisition - ARTICLE 19

Free expression and human rights groups raise concerns about the planned acquisition of the Telegraph and potential Chinese influence.

article19.org

I caught up with @mcaster.bsky.social and I-Chen Liu of @article19.bsky.social on their 2025 report on China's Digital Digital Silk Road: "Cybersecurity with Chinese Characteristics". We talked about UN, ASEAN, the upcoming Hanoi Convention. Have a watch: www.youtube.com/watch?v=0t5a...

Digital Silk Road: how China's reshaping the global digital norm

YouTube video by 鬼島之音 Ghost Island Media

youtube.com

A new report by @article19.bsky.social traces how China’s targeting of protesters has evolved since the Tiananmen Square massacre into part of a sophisticated transnational repression campaign using harassment, violence and surveillance. #ChinaTargets Read more:

New report details Beijing’s targeting of protestors abroad - ICIJ

ARTICLE 19, a freedom of expression advocacy organization, documented heightened transnational repression during state visits, echoing the findings of ICIJ’s China Targets investigation.

buff.ly

Please join us on June 4TH for an @article19.bsky.social webinar & report launch: From #Tiananmen to transnational repression - #China's assault on the right to protest. I'm excited to be joined by experts @zhoufengsuo.bsky.social @zumretayarkin.bsky.social & @aimenlau.bsky.social QR 4 registration!

On the eve of the #Tiananmen anniversary, @whyyoutouzhele X account - renowned for protest related content - is again shadow banned, amid some 800 inauthentic Teacher Li accounts. Fake accounts game the algorithm to silence expression. It is part of Beijing's arsenal of influence.

🔥FLAME OF FREEDOM: @zhoufengsuo.bsky.social recalls meeting a #HongKonger in #Beijing in 1989, the spirit of resistance that united them, and how it lives on through Chow Hang-tung and others who refuse to forget the #TiananmenSquareMassacre. Read the blog: thecfhk.org/the-spirit-o...

Please join us on June 4TH for an @article19.bsky.social webinar & report launch: From #Tiananmen to transnational repression - #China's assault on the right to protest. I'm excited to be joined by experts @zhoufengsuo.bsky.social @zumretayarkin.bsky.social & @aimenlau.bsky.social QR 4 registration!

I will be speaking on June 4th, 2025 about transnational repression against PRC dissidents alongside some stellar panelists for @article19.bsky.social, please join us if you can! @mcaster.bsky.social

New event! 📆4th June 🕛Midday UK time @article19.bsky.social launch new report "From Tiananmen to transnational repression China's assault on the right to protest" w/ @aimenlau.bsky.social @zumretayarkin.bsky.social @mcaster.bsky.social @zhoufengsuo.bsky.social

The arrest of Anna Kwok’s family is a shocking escalation in Hong Kong's transnational repression and use of the draconian national security law – for the first time weaponised against the families of wanted activists. They must be released immediately! www.reuters.com/world/asia-p...

Hong Kong police arrest father and brother of wanted activist Anna Kwok

Hong Kong national security police have arrested the father and brother of wanted activist Anna Kwok for allegedly dealing with her finances, local media reported on Friday, in the first use of the city's security law on family members.

reuters.com

#China 🇨🇳 @globalvoices.org interviews @mcaster.bsky.social of ARTICLE 19 about the importance of looking into the digital security norms increasingly imposed by China in the larger Asia-Pacific region. buff.ly/kENeHEA @article19.bsky.social

”The sacrifices that RFA reporters make knowing they’re the last line of defense for their countrymen are often unimaginable…Now these brave journalists…may be silenced by the very nation whose belief in press freedom inspired them in the first place.” www.nytimes.com/2025/05/02/o...

Opinion | Trump Is Silencing Radio Free Asia. Now China Doesn’t Have To.

The U.S. government’s dismantling of Radio Free Asia means giving Beijing’s propaganda free rein.

nytimes.com

This is beyond outrageous! #HongKong authorities have sunk to a new despicable low in their escalating transnational repression in arresting the father and brother of human rights defender in exile Anna Kwok, executive director of Hong Kong Democracy Council. www.reuters.com/world/asia-p...

Hong Kong police arrest father and brother of wanted activist Anna Kwok

Hong Kong national security police have arrested the father and brother of wanted activist Anna Kwok for allegedly dealing with her finances, local media reported on Friday, in the first use of the city's security law on family members.

reuters.com

China’s new anti-sanctions give authorities even more power to punish tech companies, risking censorship, surveillance, and human rights. Read @mcaster.bsky.social’s analysis via @techpolicypress.bsky.social: www.techpolicy.press/chinas-anti-...

China’s Anti-Sanctions Rules Raise Human Rights Risks for Global Tech Firms | TechPolicy.Press

The new rules, which have already taken effect, outline 22 provisions that risk supercharging risks to foreign tech companies, writes Michael Caster.

techpolicy.press

#China 🌏 @mcaster.bsky.social of @article19.bsky.social writes about Xi Jinping's visit to #Cambodia, #Malaysia, & #Vietnam and their implications on digital infrastructure, governance, and free speech in the region.

China: Southeast Asia visit raises alarm over digital repression - ARTICLE 19

As Xi Jinping visits countries in Southeast Asia, ARTICLE 19 warns about the risk of growing digital repression in the region.

buff.ly