9 sep 2025
Investigation reveals that a Chinese company is allegedly exporting censorship technologies to Myanmar, Pakistan, Kazakhstan and Ethiopia
Résumé
Date indiquée: 9 sep 2025
Lieu: Pakistan
Entreprises
ThalesConcerné
Nombre total de personnes concernées: Chiffre inconnu
Enjeux
Respect de la vie privée , Accès à l'information , Surveillance , Prévention et règlement des conflits , CensureRéponse
Réponse demandée : Oui, par Follow The Money
Lien externe vers la réponse: (En savoir plus)
Mesures prises: Upon request, the Thales Group confirmed that Geedge Networks was their client. However, they insisted that the Chinese software did not rely on their product to function. The Thales Group “has nothing to do with the surveillance function of Geedge Networks’ product”, it said.
Type de source: News outlet
Résumé
Date indiquée: 9 sep 2025
Lieu: Birmanie
Entreprises
ThalesConcerné
Nombre total de personnes concernées: Chiffre inconnu
Enjeux
Respect de la vie privée , Accès à l'information , Censure , Surveillance , Prévention et règlement des conflitsRéponse
Réponse demandée : Oui, par Follow The Money
Lien externe vers la réponse: (En savoir plus)
Mesures prises: Upon request, the Thales Group confirmed that Geedge Networks was their client. However, they insisted that the Chinese software did not rely on their product to function. The Thales Group “has nothing to do with the surveillance function of Geedge Networks’ product”, it said.
Type de source: News outlet
Résumé
Date indiquée: 9 sep 2025
Lieu: Birmanie
Entreprises
Geedge NetworksConcerné
Nombre total de personnes concernées: Chiffre inconnu
Enjeux
Déni de liberté d'expression , Surveillance , Censure , Accès à l'information , Groupes armés , Prévention et règlement des conflits , Accès à internetRéponse
Réponse demandée : Oui, par Follow The Money
Lien externe vers la réponse: (En savoir plus)
Mesures prises: Questions sent to Fang Binxing and Geedge Networks by Follow the Money, remain unanswered.
Type de source: News outlet
Résumé
Date indiquée: 9 sep 2025
Lieu: Éthiopie
Entreprises
Geedge NetworksConcerné
Nombre total de personnes concernées: Chiffre inconnu
Enjeux
Respect de la vie privée , Surveillance , Accès à l'information , Censure , Prévention et règlement des conflits , Accès à internetRéponse
Réponse demandée : Oui, par Follow The Money
Lien externe vers la réponse: (En savoir plus)
Mesures prises: Questions sent to Fang Binxing and Geedge Networks by Follow the Money, remain unanswered.
Type de source: News outlet
Résumé
Date indiquée: 9 sep 2025
Lieu: Pakistan
Entreprises
Geedge NetworksConcerné
Nombre total de personnes concernées: Chiffre inconnu
Enjeux
Respect de la vie privée , Surveillance , Accès à internet , Accès à l'informationRéponse
Réponse demandée : Oui, par Follow The Money
Lien externe vers la réponse: (En savoir plus)
Mesures prises: Questions sent to Fang Binxing and Geedge Networks by Follow the Money, remain unanswered.
Type de source: News outlet
Résumé
Date indiquée: 9 sep 2025
Lieu: Global
Entreprises
Alibaba GroupConcerné
Nombre total de personnes concernées: Chiffre inconnu
Enjeux
Respect de la vie privée , Censure , Accès à l'information , Surveillance , Déni de liberté d'expression , Prévention et règlement des conflitsRéponse
Réponse demandée : Oui, par Follow The Money
Lien externe vers la réponse: (En savoir plus)
Mesures prises: Alibaba Cloud declined to comment.
Type de source: News outlet
Résumé
Date indiquée: 9 sep 2025
Lieu: Éthiopie
Entreprises
ThalesConcerné
Nombre total de personnes concernées: Chiffre inconnu
Enjeux
Respect de la vie privée , Surveillance , Censure , Prévention et règlement des conflits , Coupures d'internetRéponse
Réponse demandée : Oui, par Follow The Money
Lien externe vers la réponse: (En savoir plus)
Mesures prises: Upon request, the Thales Group confirmed that Geedge Networks was their client. However, they insisted that the Chinese software did not rely on their product to function. The Thales Group “has nothing to do with the surveillance function of Geedge Networks’ product”, it said.
Type de source: News outlet
"China exports censorship tech to authoritarian regimes – aided by EU firms" 9 September 2025
...A leak of Geedge Networks’ internal data revealed a client list of repressive and dictatorial regimes, including China, Pakistan, Kazakhstan and Ethiopia, as well as links that stretch into the heart of Europe.
A months-long investigation by Follow the Money, German investigative newsroom Paper Trail Media, Austrian newspaper DER STANDARD, and Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail, with the help of Amnesty International, Justice for Myanmar – a group of activists researching to dismantle the junta in Myanmar – the Tor Project, and InterSecLab – which also provided technical support – toiled to unpick the data and reveal how governments are seeking to control their citizens’ digital world.
The dictator’s toolbox, as offered by Geedge Networks, is vast and powerful, according to an analysis of confidential documents by InterSecLab. These tools can detect and block VPNs, monitor an individual’s internet usage, and identify where they are, for example, during protests. Geedge Networks’ technologies can even launch attacks on websites on demand...
...Questions sent to Geedge Networks by Follow the Money, remain unanswered...
...Aside from Myanmar, another of Geedge Network’s clients is Ethiopia. In 2020, the government shut down the internet in the Tigray region for roughly two years – in the midst of an armed conflict involving serious human rights violations...The reason for the blackout was an attempt to control the narrative, prevent communication between Ethiopians, each other, and the outside world, and to prevent opposition mobilisation...While the internet in Ethiopia is partially restored following the 2022 ceasefire agreement, Vesteinsson believes that the Ethiopian government used the internet blocking “as a tool of war”...
...Another client of Geedge Networks, the leaked documents show, is Pakistan – a country where state-sanctioned surveillance has been a highly controversial issue for years, even ending up in the country’s Supreme Court. Authorities can intercept user data, listen to voice calls, and read messages. Internet access in the country has faced significant slowdowns along with bans on mobile internet and the blocking of access to sites such as X, particularly amid protests and periods of civil unrest...
...The Chinese company uses software from the French Thales Group to maintain control over its licenses - for example, to make them cease their function once the subscription period ends...Upon request, the Thales Group confirmed that Geedge Networks was their client. However, they insisted that the Chinese software did not rely on their product to function. The Thales Group “has nothing to do with the surveillance function of Geedge Networks’ product”, it said...
...In addition, an analysis of InterSecLab shows that one of Geedge Networks’ domains points to a server in the Alibaba Cloud Data Center in Germany...Alibaba Cloud declined to comment...