China Law TranslateApr 19, 2023
Some initial thoughts on the case against Chinese police officers charged in transnational repression schemes targeting US residents.
Full Complaint here: https://www.justice.gov/d9/2023-04/squad_912_-_23-mj-0334_redacted_complaint_signed.pdf
Show threadChina Law TranslateApr 19, 2023
It seems fairly clear that police in Beijing and other areas in China had a special team dedicated to monitoring global social media content to find "anti-China" item, and actively seek to have them removed, downvoted, etc., and to promote "more desirable" narratives.
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It also seems clear that they did this in part by creating accounts that posed as 'ordinary users' outside of China- making them seem more credible, and allowing for the creation of an artificially large group.
Apr 19, 2023 at 6:17pmWeb
Show threadChina Law TranslateApr 19, 2023
The charges, however, largely relate to online harassment and threats, not the influence campaign.
These were carried out through various forms of cyber-violence and cyber-bullying, and in some cases hostile and invasive 'zoom-bombing'' to effectively shut down meetings.
Show threadChina Law TranslateApr 19, 2023

An ongoing case of working with a Zoom employee to shut down an event on the Tiananmen massacre is also involved.

nytimes.com/2020/12/18/technology/zoom-tiananmen-square.html

Show threadChina Law TranslateApr 19, 2023

The questions of when an online attack amounts to a real threat, or "causes, attempts to cause, or would be reasonably expected to cause substantial emotional distress" so as to justify criminal prosecution, seem like issues relevant beyond this case and worth researching.

Given that most of the defendants aren't in the US, these issues are unlikely to get explored here.

Show threadChina Law TranslateApr 19, 2023
The complaint and accompanying press release do succeed, however, in sending a message to both China and US residents that the FBI is deeply aware of operations such as those described and are taking some action.