Cisco

Technology
Written By Lina K

In March 2020, Cisco was named in ASPI’s report as one of at least 82 global brands whose supply chains were highly likely to contain Uyghur forced labour. Cisco did not respond to the findings.

Cisco was also identified in a 2021 report investigating U.S. technology companies and their ties to the Chinese government’s extensive use of surveillance technology to monitor and control the populations of Xinjiang Tibet, and Hong Kong.

An extract from the report states:

Cisco’s role in providing the necessary routers for blocking websites in particular led Jack Goldsmith and Tim Wu to proclaim that “the Great Wall of China [a subsidiary part of the Golden Shield responsible for censoring information] is, in effect, built with American bricks.”

Cisco has not responded to the report’s findings.

Reading:

Featured
Investigation
Uyghurs for Sale: ‘Re-education’, forced labour and surveillance beyond Xinjiang
Investigation

(First published 1 March 2020) The Chinese government has facilitated the mass transfer of Uyghur and other ethnic minority citizens from the far west region of Xinjiang to factories across the country. Under conditions that strongly suggest forced labour, Uyghurs are working in factories that are in the supply chains of at least 82 well-known global brands in the technology, clothing and automotive sectors, including Apple, BMW, Gap, Huawei, Nike, Samsung, Sony and Volkswagen.

Investigation
Reporting
US Tech Products Enable Chinese Surveillance in Xinjiang, Researchers Find
Reporting

U.S. technology companies are still supplying China’s surveillance state with equipment and software for monitoring populations and censoring information, including in the Xinjiang region, despite damning revelations that have led to genocide accusations against Beijing, according to researchers.

Reporting
Lina K
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