On July 13, 2026, the European Union imposed sanctions on VK Company for developing MAX, a messaging app mandatorily preinstalled on all smartphones, tablets, computers, and smart TVs sold in Russia since September 2025. MAX's terms of service explicitly permit sharing user data with Russian government institutions, and human rights lawyers say law enforcement has access to VK-administered platforms including VKontakte, Odnoklassniki, and MAX. The EU action, part of a package that also sanctioned developers of the FSB's SORM surveillance system, followed a Russian government crackdown on independent apps such as Telegram and WhatsApp. MAX had over 45 million registered accounts and 18 million daily active users as of late 2025.
TikTok removed or shadow-banned at least two MalaysiaNow videos in July 2026 - a July 6 report on a Greenpeace-led protest against Lynas rare-earth operations, and a July 7 press-conference video featuring lawyers representing youths killed by police - citing only 'integrity and authenticity' issues. It was the third MalaysiaNow video removed from TikTok in 2026 without further explanation, following earlier removals of coverage on Malaysia's anti-corruption commission chief and opposition parties. The removals occurred while TikTok operates under Malaysia's MCMC content-licensing regime; the same videos remained available on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. Coverage noted allegations of a pro-Israel moderation bias following TikTok's 2025 US ownership restructuring.
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On June 5-8, 2026, the US Department of Defense added Alibaba Group Holding Limited to its Section 1260H list of 'Chinese Military Companies operating in the United States,' citing indirect affiliation with SASAC and military-civil fusion contribution through MIIT ties. Alibaba disputed the designation, stating it 'is not a Chinese military company nor part of any military-civil fusion strategy.' The listing bars the Defense Department from contracting directly with Alibaba immediately, and from procuring its products/services through third parties starting June 2027.
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On June 5-8, 2026, the US Department of Defense added Baidu, Inc. to its Section 1260H list of 'Chinese Military Companies operating in the United States,' citing indirect affiliation with SASAC and military-civil fusion contribution through MIIT ties. Baidu called the designation 'entirely baseless.' The listing bars the Defense Department from contracting directly with Baidu immediately, and from procuring its products/services through third parties starting June 2027.
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On June 5-8, 2026, the US Department of Defense added BYD Company Limited to its Section 1260H list of 'Chinese Military Companies operating in the United States,' citing direct and indirect affiliation with SASAC, indirect affiliation with MIIT, and residence in or affiliation with a military-civil fusion enterprise zone. BYD called the determination a contradiction of facts, said it is 'not a military enterprise,' and stated it would pursue administrative and legal remedies. The listing bars the Defense Department from contracting directly with BYD immediately, and from procuring its products/services through third parties starting June 2027.
Middle East Eye reported in June 2026 that Israeli spyware firm NSO Group continued to target WhatsApp users with Pegasus despite a binding US court order arising from the Meta v. NSO Group litigation. The reporting cited evidence of continued infections after the judgment, raising the prospect of contempt proceedings and renewed pressure on US sanctions enforcement against the company.
In April 2026, the EFF published analysis showing Palantir's ELITE tool is used by ICE for mass deportation sweeps, contrary to Palantir's claims of 'prioritized enforcement.' Sworn testimony revealed ICE agents use ELITE to determine where to conduct deportation sweeps using data from 'all kinds of sources' including Medicaid. Nearly 1 in 5 ICE arrests were of Latine persons with neither criminal history nor removal order. Reports link Palantir systems to facial recognition used to identify people recording law enforcement. The tool has been connected to deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. Palantir publicly embraces UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
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In March 2026, X withheld numerous Indian accounts belonging to journalists, activists and parody/satire handles (including a page with 240,000+ followers and journalist Sandeep Singh), citing generic 'legal demand' notices under Section 69A of India's IT Act, with little or no explanation given to affected users. The takedowns came amid a broader surge in Indian government content-blocking activity: government blocking orders roughly doubled to over 24,000 in a year, with more than half targeting X, and in February 2026 India cut the compliance window for removing flagged content from 36 hours to 3 hours. Digital rights group Internet Freedom Foundation called the process 'alarming', saying 'secret and inaccessible censorship defeats procedural safeguards' set out by the Supreme Court in Shreya Singhal v. Union of India, and that the targeted content was political or satirical rather than clearly unlawful. X complied with the government orders without public objection or transparency reporting on the specific accounts affected.
At a Las Vegas company event in February 2026, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff made at least two remarks joking about ICE officers 'in the building' after asking international employees to stand. Internal Slack channels 'lit up with angry reactions.' 1,400 employees subsequently signed a letter expressing concerns about Agentforce AI being used by ICE to automate processes like handling tipline reports. At least 32 people died in ICE custody in 2025 and at least 9 in 2026, including high-profile shootings.
In February 2026, Palo Alto Networks' Unit 42 identified hacking group TGR-STA-1030 as connected to Beijing in a draft report, but the final published version described them only as 'a state-aligned group that operates out of Asia.' Two sources told Reuters the company feared retaliation from Beijing after Chinese authorities banned ~15 US/Israeli cybersecurity firms in January 2026. The campaign had breached government and critical infrastructure in 37 countries. SentinelOne independently confirmed the China link. VP Nicole Hockin called suggestions 'speculative and false.' Palo Alto has 5 offices and 70+ employees in China.
A January 2026 Citizen Lab report found Cellebrite equipment was used in at least seven cases to extract data from phones seized from activists and a journalist detained during pro-Palestinian protests in Jordan between late 2023 and mid-2025. None of the individuals consented to the searches. All four devices forensically analyzed showed Cellebrite product use in 2024-2025.
incidental
In January 2026, the Supreme Court agreed to hear a lawsuit accusing Cisco of supplying technology used by China to identify, detain, and persecute Falun Gong practitioners. Leaked 2008 marketing materials allegedly showed Cisco touted its products' ability to identify 90%+ of Falun Gong online content. Plaintiffs allege arrest, detention, torture including beatings with steel rods, electric shocks, and forced labor camps.
As of 2026, Huawei was identified as a lead supplier (alongside ZTE and Hikvision) in a reported $2 billion-plus buildout of AI-powered surveillance infrastructure across 11+ African countries including Kenya, Nigeria, Egypt, Zambia, and Uganda, financed in part through Chinese state-backed 'soft loans' conditioned on purchasing Chinese surveillance technology as part of the Digital Silk Road programme. Deployments include facial recognition and automated license-plate cameras in cities such as Nairobi, Lusaka, and Abuja, and a 2026 'Smart Surveillance Infrastructure' rollout in Cross River State, Nigeria. Human rights researchers documented that African governments have repeatedly repurposed these systems to monitor and repress political opposition, dissidents, and human rights activists in the absence of adequate legal oversight.
In December 2025, after sustained lobbying by CEO Jensen Huang, the Trump administration approved Nvidia's sale of advanced H200 AI chips to China with the U.S. government receiving a 25% cut of future sales. Huang met directly with President Trump on December 4 and with Republican senators in closed-door meetings. Senator Elizabeth Warren alleged Huang 'used donations and personal access' to influence policy, citing his attendance at a $1 million-per-plate Trump fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago and Nvidia's donations to Trump's White House ballroom project. Warren called the decision one that 'sells out American national security' and demanded Huang testify before Congress.
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In November 2025, Apple confirmed it removed popular gay dating apps Blued and Finka from its Chinese iOS Store following an order from the Cyberspace Administration of China. This continued Apple's pattern of complying with authoritarian censorship demands, following 2024 removals of WhatsApp and Instagram from China.
In late 2025, Jensen Huang opposed the bipartisan Guaranteeing Access and Innovation for National Artificial Intelligence (GAIN AI) Act, which would have required chipmakers to give U.S. companies first pick of chips before selling to China or foreign adversaries. The act passed the Senate in October as part of the annual Defense bill but reportedly faced resistance from the Trump White House after Huang's lobbying. Senator Warren stated Huang was 'sneaking in to meet with Senate Republicans behind closed doors as he kills the bipartisan GAIN AI Act.' Huang also advocated for federal AI regulation to preempt state laws protecting children, renters, and workers.
Qatar Investment Authority backed Anthropic's $13B Series F at $183B valuation. Company framed Gulf capital as 'narrowly scoped, purely financial' investment with no governance rights. UAE's MGX notably absent from final round despite being in advanced talks. Contradicts October 2024 essay warning of 'AI-powered authoritarianism.'
A joint Guardian/+972 Magazine/Local Call investigation revealed Microsoft provided customized Azure cloud infrastructure to Israel's Unit 8200 intelligence unit for storing recordings of millions of daily Palestinian phone calls. By July 2025, the surveillance system held 11,500 terabytes of military data stored on Azure servers in the Netherlands and Ireland. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella met with Unit 8200's commander in late 2021 to discuss the collaboration. Sources within Unit 8200 said the data was used to research and identify bombing targets in Gaza and to blackmail Palestinians in the West Bank.
compelled $800.0M
AMD reported an $800 million charge tied to halted shipments of AI chips to China. The company's MI308 accelerator, designed with export compliance in mind, was blocked by U.S. export restrictions. AMD had to write down inventory and cut China from its revenue forecast. Gross margin sank to 43% from 54%.
Leaked Slack memo from Amodei to staff stated company seeking UAE and Qatar investments, reversing previous stance against authoritarian funding. Wrote: 'I really wish we weren't in this position, but we are' and 'Unfortunately, I think "No bad person should ever benefit from our success" is a pretty difficult principle to run a business on.' Cited competitors' moves and $100B+ available capital.