What do you think?
Rate this book
Trafficking Data: How China Is Winning the Battle for Digital Sovereignty
From TikTok and Fortnite to Grindr and Facebook, Aynne Kokas delivers an urgent look into the technology firms that gather our data, and how the Chinese government is capitalizing on this data flow for political gain.
On August 6, 2020, the Trump Administration issued a ban on TikTok in the United States, requiring that the owner, Beijing-based Bytedance, sell the company to American investors or shut it down. Legions of TikTokers were devastated at the possible loss of their beloved platform, and for what: a
political grudge with China? American suitors like Walmart and Oracle tried to make a deal with Bytedance to keep the platform operating in the US. But then something curious happened. The Chinese government refused to let Bytedance sell TikTok on national security grounds. As it turns out, the
pandemic era platform for dance challenges is a Chinese government asset.
As digital technologies and social media have evolved into organizing forces for the way in which we conduct our work and social lives, the business logic that undergirds these digital platforms has become clear: we are their product. We give these businesses information about everything--from where
we live and work to what we like to do for entertainment, what we consume, where we travel, what we think politically, and with whom we are friends and acquaintances. We do this willingly, but often without a full understanding of how this information is stored or used, or what happens to it when it
crosses international boundaries. As Aynne Kokas argues, both corporations and governments traffic much of this data without our consent--and sometimes illegally--for political and financial gain.
In Trafficking Data, Aynne Kokas looks at how technology firms in the two largest economies in the world, the United States and China, have exploited government policy (and the lack thereof) to gather information on citizens, putting US national security at risk. Kokas argues that US government
leadership failures, Silicon Valley's disruption fetish, and Wall Street's addiction to growth have fuelled China's technological goldrush. In turn, American complacency yields an unprecedented opportunity for Chinese firms to gather data in the United States and quietly send it back to China, and
by extension, to the Chinese government. Drawing on years of fieldwork in the US and China and a large trove of corporate and policy documents, Trafficking Data explains how China is fast becoming the global leader in internet governance and policy, and thus of the data that defines our public and
private lives.
On August 6, 2020, the Trump Administration issued a ban on TikTok in the United States, requiring that the owner, Beijing-based Bytedance, sell the company to American investors or shut it down. Legions of TikTokers were devastated at the possible loss of their beloved platform, and for what: a
political grudge with China? American suitors like Walmart and Oracle tried to make a deal with Bytedance to keep the platform operating in the US. But then something curious happened. The Chinese government refused to let Bytedance sell TikTok on national security grounds. As it turns out, the
pandemic era platform for dance challenges is a Chinese government asset.
As digital technologies and social media have evolved into organizing forces for the way in which we conduct our work and social lives, the business logic that undergirds these digital platforms has become clear: we are their product. We give these businesses information about everything--from where
we live and work to what we like to do for entertainment, what we consume, where we travel, what we think politically, and with whom we are friends and acquaintances. We do this willingly, but often without a full understanding of how this information is stored or used, or what happens to it when it
crosses international boundaries. As Aynne Kokas argues, both corporations and governments traffic much of this data without our consent--and sometimes illegally--for political and financial gain.
In Trafficking Data, Aynne Kokas looks at how technology firms in the two largest economies in the world, the United States and China, have exploited government policy (and the lack thereof) to gather information on citizens, putting US national security at risk. Kokas argues that US government
leadership failures, Silicon Valley's disruption fetish, and Wall Street's addiction to growth have fuelled China's technological goldrush. In turn, American complacency yields an unprecedented opportunity for Chinese firms to gather data in the United States and quietly send it back to China, and
by extension, to the Chinese government. Drawing on years of fieldwork in the US and China and a large trove of corporate and policy documents, Trafficking Data explains how China is fast becoming the global leader in internet governance and policy, and thus of the data that defines our public and
private lives.
360 pages, Hardcover
Published November 1, 2022
19 people are currently reading
1548 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
July 12, 2022
As the book's author, I am obviously a very biased reader, but I am incredibly excited to share this book with you! "Trafficking Data" builds on my time working inside a foreign-run VPN company in China, staying in a Communist Party training facility when Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou was arrested, visiting the Alibaba headquarters in China with staffers from the United States Congress, working in a cybersecurity lab with Chinese dissidents, and lot more. I explain why the data we share with companies matters not just for our own privacy, but for the stability of our democracy.
November 17, 2022
Tick Tock for TikTok
Very very good book.
Scary read for sure.
A really encouraging book for national security and digital soverignty.
Just one more important book to add to my recommended book pile on international relations, foreign policy, and political science.
Highly recommended.
4.8/5
Very very good book.
Scary read for sure.
A really encouraging book for national security and digital soverignty.
Just one more important book to add to my recommended book pile on international relations, foreign policy, and political science.
Highly recommended.
4.8/5
October 17, 2022
"Trafficking Data: How China is Winning the Battle for Digital Sovereignty" by Aynne Kokas is an incisive and meticulously researched work that should be required reading for everyone who uses Tik Tok, plays Fortnight, or buys home monitoring devices from China. Aynne Kokas draws on her extensive knowledge of Chinese economics, culture and language to define data trafficking and describe the potential threats associated with the collection of data on Americans. She comprehensively examines the many aspects of data collection in social media, gaming, money, health and home: "Data trafficking has more potentially seriuos, long-term impacts in the healthcare contexts than it does in other contexts."
Aynne Kokas closes with a call to action to "help others better understand what their data vunerabilities mean." This is a vital message for all consumers to gain insight into how managing international data flow can impact security in both our present and future.
Aynne Kokas closes with a call to action to "help others better understand what their data vunerabilities mean." This is a vital message for all consumers to gain insight into how managing international data flow can impact security in both our present and future.
December 15, 2022
Thoroughly documented, Anne Kokas’s “Trafficking Data” proves to the reader where we have been, where we are and where we need to be in this fast-paced, mismanaged world of processing cyber data. In just over a few decades of technological advances in social media platforms, albeit spectacularly accommodating, transmission and abduction of personal digital data has led us to a very dark place, specifically in China. As of the writing of this review and given the current warnings by the FBI regarding TikTok as a national security risk, Trafficking Data couldn’t be timelier. Anne Kokas offers solutions with extraordinary insight from her in-depth research.
November 5, 2022
Dr. Aynne Kokas in her masterwork "Trafficking Data" skillfully makes easy for the reader not only to navigate through the labyrinth of such vast information platforms provided by the internet, but also, to understand the complexity of how technology firms and politics in United States and China relate, compete, and how both have shaped the global movement of critical data.
it seems that People's Republic of China has the upper hand in its efforts to unseat US as the world's economic, political, and ideological leader. Data trafficking is in its infancy, and the future of humanity is critical, unknown and unpredictable...
"Trafficking Data" is interesting, thought-provoking, informative, and timely book wtritten by an expert professor in Media Studies; a must read for every American!
I enjoyed reading it, and I highly recommended!
James Stathakios
it seems that People's Republic of China has the upper hand in its efforts to unseat US as the world's economic, political, and ideological leader. Data trafficking is in its infancy, and the future of humanity is critical, unknown and unpredictable...
"Trafficking Data" is interesting, thought-provoking, informative, and timely book wtritten by an expert professor in Media Studies; a must read for every American!
I enjoyed reading it, and I highly recommended!
James Stathakios
November 1, 2022
Enlightening and Compelling!
Aynne Kokas convincingly presents a brilliantly researched accounting of trafficking data, the unchecked rise of China's digital sovereignty, and the myriad ways digital practices of the United States' corporations, government, social media users, gamers, and digitally connected population contribute to this growing data conglomerate. Central to the depth and breadth of Kokas' account is her deep dive into the unwanted national and global consequences of liberal U.S. techno-policies, but she does not stop there. Equally important to her argument are the concrete stabilizers she presents to offset this complacency and, ultimately, level the digital sovereignty playing field for the free world. A must read for those who care about balance, equality, and safety in the global digital world we all increasingly inhabit.
Aynne Kokas convincingly presents a brilliantly researched accounting of trafficking data, the unchecked rise of China's digital sovereignty, and the myriad ways digital practices of the United States' corporations, government, social media users, gamers, and digitally connected population contribute to this growing data conglomerate. Central to the depth and breadth of Kokas' account is her deep dive into the unwanted national and global consequences of liberal U.S. techno-policies, but she does not stop there. Equally important to her argument are the concrete stabilizers she presents to offset this complacency and, ultimately, level the digital sovereignty playing field for the free world. A must read for those who care about balance, equality, and safety in the global digital world we all increasingly inhabit.
November 2, 2022
What many of us have suspected but ignored is revealed in this book step by scary step: how the data trails of our American lives are captured and used by China. This book is a must read for anyone trying to understand what we as individuals, communities and nations need to do to fight data trafficking now.
November 1, 2022
As someone with an avid interest in China and tech, I can highly recommend this book as a well-researched, policy-driven text. Both avid non-fiction and academic readers will find much to appreciate about the book.
October 25, 2022
It was an honor to work on this book and I would highly recommend it to anyone and everyone. It delves into the incredibly important and relevant issue of data trafficking in a fascinating way. Another great book by Aynne Kokas!
July 21, 2023
Informative book about how data is being stored and used in China vs the United States and other regions (e.g. European Union) and the policy around them. Some good terms to know in the data industry: Data Trafficking is how data is stored and moved from product to data center and, Data Sovereignty, which is who has control of the data in transit and at the data center.
This is packed with information and current events/developments. Kokas mentions a wide range of products and programs of data collection and storage from biomedical data to baby cameras to social media to gaming to other household and consumer products. China required data from products used in China to be stored in China-based data centers, which are ultimately state-controlled. Companies and products need to be careful of how their data is stored and used, and who has access to it. Cheap products may mean cheap data protection.. What about interacting with digital companies that are based in China?
Helpful for people that works with data, especially for consumer products or citizen data, and data policy. Each country needs to figure how to best protect their people and company to protect and retain the trust of their consumers as data continues to grow and become a major aspects of every product and interaction.
This is packed with information and current events/developments. Kokas mentions a wide range of products and programs of data collection and storage from biomedical data to baby cameras to social media to gaming to other household and consumer products. China required data from products used in China to be stored in China-based data centers, which are ultimately state-controlled. Companies and products need to be careful of how their data is stored and used, and who has access to it. Cheap products may mean cheap data protection.. What about interacting with digital companies that are based in China?
Helpful for people that works with data, especially for consumer products or citizen data, and data policy. Each country needs to figure how to best protect their people and company to protect and retain the trust of their consumers as data continues to grow and become a major aspects of every product and interaction.
January 27, 2023
Very comprehensive analysis of the issue
A very detailed review of the issue, the overpowering impact of China in this space, and a series of practical recommendations to begin addressing the issue
A very detailed review of the issue, the overpowering impact of China in this space, and a series of practical recommendations to begin addressing the issue
February 10, 2023
This book will make you want to ditch your phone and live in a cabin. More importantly it explains the intricacies of date management and rights across borders and how US companies and the PRC leverage this information. I could not stop reading this book.
November 20, 2023
The irony of posting this and rating it on a social media app is not lost on me.
May 6, 2024
WeChat is literally what Elon wants Twitter to become...
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews