3 Global Approaches to Dealing with Technology Companies – Mehr News Agency | Iran and world’s news

According to the Mehr reporter, today technology has become an important and determining factor in the geopolitical developments of the world. The “Fourth Industrial Revolution” is redrawing the lines of the emerging world order, and technology companies, as they gain power in the heart of this revolution, gradually challenge the authority, capacity and power of governments to govern. The National Affair website recently addressed this issue in an article by Clone Kitchen.

Growing the geopolitical impact of technology companies

Technology has always been a key variable in the geopolitical changes of the world. Innovations such as yachts, gunpowder, steam engines, nuclear power plants, communications and information technology, etc., at the time of emergence, drastically changed the world around them and upset the balance of political power between the country. These developments are so profound that they change the level of wealth and power of a country and change the position of countries in the international system. In the present age, a concept such as the “Fourth Industrial Revolution” is taking shape and shaping the fixed lines of the new world order. Under such circumstances, companies are rapidly becoming partners of governments in the exercise of political power.

Experts believe that, in general, three key components are particularly important in bringing about this change:

* A growing number of technology companies are interested in expanding their global influence internationally. In 2016, global spending on technology exceeded $ 6.3 trillion and became the world’s third largest economy in terms of GDP. To better understand these conditions, it should be noted that only the two economies, the United States and China, have a larger volume of the technology market. By 2023, more than 50 percent of the world’s gross domestic product is projected to be in this emerging market. To date, no industry has been as global as technology.

* The second main reason for the beginning of the role of technology companies in the field of geopolitics is the expansion of the presence and influence of online social media. Advertising is one of the basic pillars of geopolitical role-playing in the present age, and the technology sector has free access to such a possibility in the current situation. However, in many cases, governments use this platform to achieve their grand goals, and on the other hand, they try to take control of the situation in the context of social networks.

* The third and final reason for claiming the role of technology companies in the geopolitical future of the world is the growing role of technology companies in developing national security capabilities. Platforms, on the other hand, have broken the monopoly of governments on access to information. Today, media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter have more access to information than any other spy organization in the world. That is why the term “regulatory capitalism” is sometimes used to describe the business model of the world’s technology giants.

According to estimates, in 2019, more than 5 billion people in the world (approximately 65% ​​of the total population) have mobile phones, and about half of them are smart, and it is predicted that by the end of 2021 this figure Up to 2 times. The IFAF Foundation recently wrote in a report entitled “Behind the One-Sided Mirror: A Deep Scrutiny of Corporate Monitoring Technology”:

“Every smartphone has a tracker that sends its location continuously to groups. Each of these internet-connected devices, with its powerful camera and microphone, has the potential to become a unique listening device. However, they are not the only factors that make technology and companies in this field a major threat to privacy. The biggest threat to the privacy of every citizen today is the slow, continuous and unstoppable accumulation of vital information about the details of our lives at the disposal of these companies. This data includes things like our search history, apps used, purchases, and our location. “Eventually, these data will be aggregated and provide the tech giants with a detailed understanding of our political affiliation, religious beliefs, social identity, race and ethnicity, imagination, income, shopping habits, and physical and mental health.”

Three Common Government Responses to Technology Companies

The transfer of power from the public sector to the private sector and technology companies in the field of geopolitics has been met with various reactions from governments around the world, in this short opportunity to examine the approach of the world’s three major government actors, namely the United States, China and We will pay the European Union.

* USA: Partnership and Investment

The US government’s response to the rise of platforms can be summed up in the terms “partnership and investment”. On the advice of prominent theorists, US policymakers have realized the inability of the US government to counter this trend. In other words, under no circumstances can the United States ensure its complete superiority over technology companies over time. And so he has chosen a different strategy of confrontation. Companies such as Microsoft and Amazon, both of which are vying for tens of billions of dollars in contracts with the Pentagon, have made clear their commitment to working with the federal government.

* China: Integration and usage

China’s response to the growing role of technology companies in geopolitical issues is to adopt an “integration and use” strategy. China, like any other country in the history of the world, seeks to exert geopolitical influence in order to secure and advance its national interests. This approach is quite logical and is the only way forward for nations to continue to be present in the world system. In addition, official Chinese strategies show that the country has come to the conclusion that in order to play an effective role in the future of the world, it must snatch the ball of competition from others in at least 10 high-tech industries and become a world leader. Therefore, the Chinese government needs the leadership of a large part of the world technology industry to continue its competition with its Western rival, the United States, and this is why the Chinese authorities are determined to increase government support for the technology sector and maximize the achievements of these companies to increase Power has become geopolitical.

* EU: Restrictions by legislation

The United States and China both have powerful and influential domestic technology industries, and both governments are somehow seeking to use the power of this tool to increase their power and national security. The former seeks to achieve this goal through voluntary cooperation based on common interests and the latter through incentive and forced partnerships with technology companies. The situation is different in Europe. The technology industry and leading companies in the field of technology in this region, compared to the private sector of the two countries, is weak and powerless. Countries, therefore, are determined to maximally limit the technology sector through legislation, leaving the technological dimensions of national and cyber security to powerful foreign actors. The most prominent example of a European strategy for technology companies is the adoption of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) by the European Union (EU).

At the same time, the issue of competition between large technology companies in this region is very serious. For example, the tireless efforts of the United States against the entry of Huawei into the Internet market with the fifth generation of Europe and the company’s determination to reach an agreement with the powerful countries in the region.

Conclusion

The growing need of all countries to develop an appropriate approach in accordance with their strategic conditions in the face of this phenomenon is obvious and necessary. Undoubtedly, Iran, as a powerful country in the West Asian region, is no exception to this rule, and systematizing the way the government deals with technology companies can solve many of the existing challenges.