Chinese broadband satellites may be Beijing's flying spying censors, think tank warns

The multiple constellations of broadband-beaming satellites planned by Chinese companies could conceivably run the nation's "Great Firewall" content censorship system, according to think tank The Australian Strategic Policy Institute. And if they do, using the services outside China will be dangerous.

A Monday note by the Institute's senior fellow Mercedes Page notes that Chinese entities plan to launch and operate three low-Earth-orbit satellite constellations to provide terrestrial internet services. As The Register has reported, the first of 15,000-plus planned satellites launched earlier in August.

Page thinks the satellites show "China is not only securing its position in the satellite internet market but laying the groundwork for expanding its digital governance model far beyond its borders."

"Central to China's ambition is the concept of cyber sovereignty – the notion that each nation has the right to govern its digital domain," she wrote, adding that "China has used this principle to build a heavily censored surveillance system supporting the Chinese Communist Party's power, widely condemned for violating human rights."

Page also notes that satellite broadband services rely on a small number of ground stations, or gateways, and that those facilities are ideal locations to run systems that monitor, block and filter content.

She therefore argues that countries that use Chinese space broadband services "could more easily control what information is accessible within their borders, much as the Great Firewall of China operates domestically.

"This could mean blocking politically sensitive topics, monitoring user activity, or shutting down the internet during unrest."

Internet shutdowns during unrest are quite common: we've recently seen them in Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. Page suggests that "satellite internet has often been hailed as a means for dissidents and activists to bypass restrictive governments," but warns that China's model of internet governance means satellite services run by Middle Kingdom carriers "would be starkly different."

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She also argues that satellite broadband could give Beijing diplomatic leverage.

"Countries relying on China's infrastructure for connectivity may risk being pressured to comply with Beijing's demands, including censoring content critical of China, sharing sensitive data or suppressing domestic dissent in China's interests. For example, a journalist in a country that relies on China's satellite internet services might find his or her connection reduced or severed when reporting human rights abuses in China."

Page also warned "The centralized nature of satellite internet may also make countries more vulnerable to cyber espionage by the Chinese government or malicious actors." Another security risk comes from Chinese laws that require companies to store data within China and make it accessible to the Chinese government. "As China's satellite projects are intended to provide global coverage, the data of international users – spanning communication, location, and internet activity – would be subject to Chinese data laws." And that could mean "Chinese authorities could potentially access any data transmitted through Chinese satellite internet services."

If Chinese satellite broadband services are widely adopted, Page thinks "the world may witness the rise of a new digital Iron Curtain extending from space, dividing the free flow of information and imposing state control on a global scale."

Which sounds terrifying. However, many nations are already wary of satellite broadband, and are attempting to regulate it like any other telco. China's telcos and networking equipment providers have already been banned in many nations, while Beijing's various diplomatic efforts are increasingly regarded with scepticism after they left countries like Sri Lanka and Zambia in deep debt.

With US-based satellite broadband providers like Starlink and Amazon's Kuiper likely to offer service that matches the performance of Chinese providers, nations will have an easy way to route around Beijing's network controls. That is, if they are applied to satellite internet – a circumstance about which Page speculates, but which is not certain to eventuate. ®