China’s state media has asked its Government to severely punish Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Apple and other American tech companies for allegedly playing to the tune of the US Government and leaking personal data to spy agencies.
The media dubbed the tech companies "pawns" of the US Government that monitor China and share its secrets, reported Reuters.
The People’s Daily said on its official microblog: "US companies including Apple, Microsoft, Google, Facebook, etc. are all coordinating with the PRISM programme to monitor China."
"To resist the naked Internet hegemony, we will draw up international regulations, and strengthen technology safeguards, but we will also severely punish the pawns of the villain. The priority is strengthening penalties and punishments, and for anyone who steals our information, even though they are far away, we shall punish them!"
PRISM is a National Security Agency (NSA) data mining programme that came into the limelight with Edward Snowden’s revelations last year.
Google chief legal officer David Drummond told Reuters: "We cannot say this more clearly – the (US) government does not have access to Google servers – not directly, or via a back door, or a so-called drop box. We provide user data to governments only in accordance with the law."
The seemingly unprovoked outburst by the Chinese media on the tech companies coincides with the 25th anniversary of the 1989 Tianmen Square protest on June 4.
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Google’s services were disrupted this week in the country in the wake of the anniversary.
The articles in the media also come a day after the US increased import duty on solar panels purchased from China. The US penalised China for dumping low priced panels in the American market thus thwarting competition.
Image: Tiananmen Gate in Beijing. Photo courtesy of LuxTonnerre
