AP Exposes US Tech Role in China’s Digital Police State

For more than two decades, some of America’s biggest technology companies played a hidden but pivotal role in building China’s digital surveillance state. An Associated Press (AP) investigation has revealed that U.S. firms supplied the hardware, software, and expertise that enabled China to design the most advanced system of mass surveillance on earth—one that now controls millions of lives, detains minorities, and crushes dissent.

While questions about U.S. technology in China have surfaced before, the AP’s findings go much deeper. Leaked documents, whistleblower records, and thousands of pages of classified material show how companies like IBM, Cisco, Dell, Intel, Oracle, Thermo Fisher, and others helped design and sell surveillance systems—sometimes directly pitching them as tools for Chinese police.

The consequences are devastating. From Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang to farmers like the Yang family in Jiangsu Province, millions of ordinary Chinese citizens are trapped in a digital cage, monitored at every step of their lives.

How the Investigation Was Conducted

The AP’s investigation lasted three years and involved:

Tens of thousands of documents, including leaked emails, databases, blueprints, and classified Chinese government records.
Over 100 interviews with engineers, executives, officers, and whistleblowers across three continents.
Procurement records showing Chinese police purchasing American technology.
Marketing materials where U.S. companies directly pitched products for surveillance and predictive policing.

A crucial breakthrough came from a trove of 20,000 leaked emails and a database from Landasoft, a Chinese surveillance firm once partnered with IBM. These revealed that Landasoft’s software—copied from IBM’s i2 platform—was used to track and detain Uyghurs during the Xinjiang crackdown.

Outside experts reviewed the leaked classified files and confirmed their authenticity, noting they aligned with years of evidence on China’s use of Western surveillance technologies.

U.S. Tech’s Role in China’s Surveillance State

Starting in the late 1990s, American firms rushed into China, seeing a lucrative opportunity in government modernization. But after the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, Beijing wanted more than modernization—it wanted control.

IBM partnered with a Chinese military contractor, Huadi, to design the “Golden Shield” project—China’s first large-scale digital policing system. Leaked blueprints show IBM’s role in building predictive policing software to track “key persons” and “abnormal gatherings.”
Cisco pitched internet monitoring tools that could identify Falun Gong content and crush online dissent.
Dell marketed laptops with “all-race recognition” capabilities on Chinese social media.
Thermo Fisher sold DNA kits advertised as designed for “ethnic minorities like Uyghurs and Tibetans.”
Intel and NVIDIA chips powered AI systems that could analyze surveillance video and even identify people by their gait.
Seagate, Western Digital, and HP supplied storage systems that housed enormous surveillance databases.

While many companies later claimed ignorance or compliance with U.S. laws, AP found direct evidence that they pitched their products specifically for policing and social control.

The Human Cost: Stories from the Ground

The AP investigation puts faces to the abstract systems.

The Yang family, farmers in Jiangsu Province, were targeted simply for petitioning against the illegal seizure of their land. Their home was surrounded by cameras. Their train tickets, hotel stays, phone calls, and purchases were flagged by police systems built on U.S. tech. Yang’s wife and daughter were detained and face long prison terms.

“We have no freedom at all,” said Yang’s elder daughter, now exiled in Japan. “At the moment, it’s us Chinese suffering. But sooner or later, Americans and others will lose their freedoms too.”

In Xinjiang, the story is even darker. Landasoft’s software, adapted from IBM’s i2, powered the Integrated Joint Operations Platform (IJOP), which flagged Uyghurs for detention based on arbitrary risk scores—having a beard, owning books, or simply being Uyghur.

Uyghur teacher Kalbinur Sidik was forced to help collect neighbor data that later sent many to camps.
Ethnic Kazakh pharmacist Parida Qabylqai was detained after visiting family abroad—her name was flagged by IJOP.
Even police officers and civil servants were eventually consumed by the very system they enforced.

The Xinjiang Crackdown and Predictive Policing

The idea of “predictive policing” sounds like science fiction, but in Xinjiang, it became reality.

Systems integrated data from banks, railways, hospitals, telecoms, and even water and power meters to predict “suspicious” behavior. The IJOP then issued arrest orders—treating computer outputs as truth.

By 2017, the system flagged 24,412 people in a single week, most of whom were detained. Engineers later admitted the technology was deeply flawed, but police were told,

“Computers cannot lie.”

Global Implications

China’s surveillance state is now the largest and most sophisticated in the world. It has also become an export model, with Chinese companies selling similar systems to Iran, Russia, and other authoritarian governments.

Meanwhile, the U.S. itself has expanded its use of surveillance technologies—deploying AI for immigration enforcement and even battlefield targeting.

Experts warn that what began in China may serve as a cautionary tale for the rest of the world: once such systems are built, they rarely remain confined to authoritarian regimes.

Corporate Responses and Legal Gray Areas

Most American firms insist they complied with U.S. export laws. IBM said its China ties were “old, stale interactions.” Cisco denied wrongdoing but admitted past sales to the police. Thermo Fisher stopped selling DNA kits in Xinjiang in 2019, under pressure.

Yet loopholes in U.S. law allowed companies to sell “dual-use” technologies—products designed for general use but easily repurposed for surveillance.

International trade lawyers told AP the situation fell into a legal gray zone: not always illegal, but deeply troubling.

Conclusion

The AP investigation makes one fact clear: “Everything was built on American tech,” as one researcher put it.

From IBM’s predictive policing tools to NVIDIA’s AI chips, U.S. companies laid the foundation for China’s surveillance machine—a machine that now controls, detains, and oppresses millions.

The Yang family’s fight for justice and the Uyghurs’ suffering show how technology, when sold without accountability, can become a weapon of oppression. And as AI and surveillance tools spread globally, the same questions now hang over democracies: How much freedom are we willing to trade for control?

FAQs

1. What did the AP investigation reveal about U.S. companies in China?

It was revealed that major firms, including IBM, Cisco, Dell, Intel, and Thermo Fisher, provided technology and expertise that contributed to the design of China’s surveillance state, often marketing products for policing and social control.

2. How was the evidence collected?

Through tens of thousands of leaked emails, databases, and government documents, along with over 100 interviews and procurement records.

3. What is “predictive policing,” and how was it used in China?

Predictive policing uses data analysis to identify people deemed “suspicious” before they commit crimes. In China, it led to the detention of Uyghurs and dissidents based on arbitrary scores and behaviors.

4. Are U.S. companies still selling surveillance tech to China?

Sales slowed after 2019 due to sanctions, but many companies still maintain contracts for existing systems. U.S. chips, servers, and software remain embedded in China’s policing networks.

5. Why does this matter globally?

China’s model of digital control is being exported abroad. Experts warn that even democratic nations are adopting similar tools, raising serious concerns about privacy, freedom, and human rights.

How AP Exposed US Big Tech’s Involvement in China’s Digital Police State