The Huawei data security scandal and politics: What implications does it have for political consumerism?
Author
Cumpelik, Jakub
Term
4. term
Publication year
2019
Pages
62
Abstract
Huawei er en kinesisk teknologivirksomhed, der er blandt de førende inden for telekommunikation, smartphones og datatransmission. Siden november 2018 har virksomheden været under pres fra vestlige lande, især på grund af Artikel 7 i Kinas nationale efterretningslov, der kan forpligte borgere og virksomheder til at udlevere data til staten på anmodning. Det skabte bekymring, mens Huawei forhandlede om at installere 5G-netværk i bl.a. Storbritannien, Danmark, Nederlandene, Tyskland og USA. Situationen eskalerede yderligere efter anholdelsen af Huaweis CFO i Canada i februar 2019, hvorefter flere vestlige lande trappede samarbejdet med Huawei ned, og USA indførte stærke toldsatser mod Kina. Denne afhandling undersøger politisk forbrug i relation til cybersikkerhed—altså når forbrugere lader politiske eller etiske hensyn påvirke deres køb—et område, hvor der findes begrænset forskning. Der blev gennemført syv semi-strukturerede interviews med studerende fra Aalborg Universitet (2 fra Danmark, 2 fra Nederlandene, 2 fra Storbritannien og 1 fra USA). Interviewene bestod af to dele: først en analyse af en Huawei-reklame offentliggjort efter skandalen, derefter en samtale om Kina som oprindelsesland, om internationale og indenrigspolitiske forhold i Kina og Vesten, og om hvordan politik kan påvirke Huawei. Analysen peger på tre overordnede indsigter. For det første opfattede deltagerne Huawei som et højtek-brand med rimelige priser, men jo mere de engagerede sig i interviewet, desto mere voksede deres bekymring over skandalen. For det andet viste der sig en uoverensstemmelse i forbrugeradfærd: Deltagerne var bekymrede for mulig statslig overvågning via 5G (fx fra Kina), men var mere tilbøjelige til at acceptere at give data til private virksomheder. De var i højere grad urolige for selve idéen om at kunne blive overvåget end for den kinesiske stat i sig selv. For det tredje viste udtalelser fra kvindelige deltagere mønstre, der minder om kritisk forbrug, dvs. bevidste købsvalg ud fra etiske eller politiske hensyn. Samlet set giver studiet nye vinkler på, hvordan politisk forbrug kan forstås i en cybersikkerhedskontekst, og det kan bidrage til at videreudvikle teorier om politisk forbrug i mødet med digitale overvågningsbekymringer.
Huawei is a Chinese technology company considered a global leader in telecommunications, smartphones, and data transmission. Since November 2018, it has faced pressure from Western countries, largely due to Article 7 of China’s National Intelligence Law, which can require citizens and companies to hand over data to the state upon request. This raised concerns while Huawei was negotiating 5G network installations in the UK, Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany, and the USA. The situation escalated after the arrest of Huawei’s CFO in Canada in February 2019; several Western countries reduced cooperation with Huawei, and the United States imposed strong trade tariffs on China. This thesis explores political consumerism in relation to cybersecurity—that is, when consumers let political or ethical concerns influence what they buy—an emerging topic with limited prior research. Seven semi-structured interviews were conducted with students from Aalborg University (2 from Denmark, 2 from the Netherlands, 2 from the UK, and 1 from the USA). The interviews had two parts: first, an analysis of a Huawei advertisement released after the scandal; second, a discussion of China as the country of origin, the role of international and domestic politics in China and the West, and how politics might affect Huawei. The analysis produced three main insights. First, participants saw Huawei as a high-tech brand with affordable products, but their concern about the scandal grew as the conversation progressed. Second, there was a discrepancy in consumer behavior: respondents were worried about possible state surveillance via 5G (e.g., from China) yet were more accepting of sharing data with private companies. They were more troubled by the idea of being spied on than by the Chinese government specifically. Third, statements from female participants showed patterns consistent with critical consumption, meaning deliberate purchasing choices based on ethical or political considerations. Overall, the study offers new angles on how political consumerism can be understood in a cybersecurity context and may help refine political consumption theory in light of digital surveillance concerns.
[This abstract was generated with the help of AI]
Keywords
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