Read on Twitter
What a remarkable month in the geopolitics of tech in the Euro-Atlantic space. Today Slovakia's FM @IvanKorcok signed the anti-Huawei Clean 5G Initiative w the US in the face of "today's evolving and sophisticated threats." Korcok asserted "privacy" as a reason for signing (1/11) https://twitter.com/IvanKorcok/status/1319355887664975882
This comes on the heels of Cyprus signing Clean Network and S&T MoU with the United States. As non-NATO member Cyprus tries to close ranks w the US amid increasing geopolitical tensions in the Eastern Med (2/11) https://in-cyprus.philenews.com/cyprus-us-sign-mou-on-clean-network-5g-security/
Also, this week Sweden banned Chinese equipment from Huawei and ZTE from their networks, joining Estonia which did so earlier this month. (3/11) https://www.globalgovernmentforum.com/sweden-estonia-bar-chinese-tech-5g-networks/
Interests are converging btw the US & smaller states on Europe's edge. Its no coincidence that several new Clean 5G signatories came as the US increases support for the Three Seas Initiative, largely seen as anti-NS2, now increasingly aimed at China (4/11) https://www.dw.com/en/europes-three-seas-initiative-aims-to-curb-chinese-influence/a-55314607
The efforts are putting two-fold pressure on Europe's core- particularly Germany- as it tries to navigate its delicate trade/tech relationship w China & increasingly fraught energy/security relationship w Russia. (5/11) https://gr.usembassy.gov/the-transatlantic-alliance-goes-clean/
Germany (& Italy) are discreetly closing the procurement gaps to Chinese telco equipment providers. Germany's draft IT-Security 2.0 Law is likely to include a combination of technical & political barriers that effectively shut Huawei out (6/11) https://www.handelsblatt.com/politik/international/5g-mobilfunknetz-hohe-huerden-fuer-huawei-das-verfahren-kommt-einem-ausschluss-gleich/26229670.html?ticket=ST-1800789-QSJErzFI1EdG2Fqjajkl-ap6
Meanwhile, on Oct 15, White House broadened its global tech framework beyond 5G w an expansive Emerging Tech Strategy framed in terms of great power conflict & identifying 20 technologies by name as critical according to the National Security Council (7/11) https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/statement-press-secretary-regarding-national-strategy-critical-emerging-technologies/
On Oct 19, the British Defense Ministry followed suit with a comprehensive Science & Technology Strategy aimed at guaranteeing the UK's status as a global tech power and its role in British national security (8/11) https://www.gov.uk/government/news/defence-secretary-announces-mod-science-and-technology-strategy-2020
Brexit could bring headwinds to that effort. An Oct 5 ECJ ruling drew into high relief that the post-Brexit UK is going to have a tough time reconciling bulk surveillance & the free flow of UK-EU data which could put British tech prowess at risk (9/11) https://www.politico.eu/article/brexit-court-ruling-threatens-eu-u-k-data-flows-surveillance-investigatory-powers-act/
Against that backdrop, @RHFontaine & @JaredCohen tied together a vision of a democratic tech alliance (T-12) to set rules, agendas, incentives and access for emerging, disruptive tech like AI, cloud & quantum computing. Ambitious but achievable. (10/11) https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/united-states/2020-10-13/uniting-techno-democracies
