Q&A: Chinese Sales of Surveillance Technology to African Governments is Understandably Worrisome but in no way Exceptional

The recent Wall Street Journal investigation that revealed Huawei employees allegedly aided the Ugandan and Zambian governments to spy on political opponents confirmed, in many peoples’ minds, the suspicions about Huawei and how the company presents a viable threat to civil rights, particularly in non-democratic societies.

The company, for its part, denied the allegations and condemned the report as both “false” and reckless. The Wall Street Journal reporting team also made it very clear that there was no evidence that any of the hacking into communications tools and social media platforms was not done at the behest of the Chinese government or the company’s management.