Hegemonic acts in cyberspace challenge clean internet claim

Some secret military documents of the United States leaked on social networking sites recently showed how the US has been eavesdropping on the secretary-general of the United Nations and the heads of the Republic of Korea, Israel, Ukraine and other countries.

These leaks prove that the US' claims of promoting a "clean internet" and "technology in line with democratic values and interests" are hypocritical.

Even the media in the US said the leaked documents provide a rare peek into how the Central Intelligence Agency recruits agents or uses technology to spy on foreign leaders.

These documents show that the US, with its technological advantages, has been wantonly eavesdropping and launching cyberattacks on other countries, seriously undermining the sovereignty of other countries and the privacy of internet users around the world, and violating international law and the basic norms governing international relations.

Wiretapping scandals show that the US is the initiator of cyberwarfare, the biggest distributor of advanced cyberweapons, and the world's biggest cyber-thief.

According to classified documents released by former US defense contractor Edward Snowden in 2013, the National Security Agency had monitored the phone calls of 35 foreign leaders and tracked and stolen information about mobile phone activities around the world, collecting up to 5 billion records every day. The Danish Broadcasting Corporation revealed in 2021 that the US had spied on the leaders of its European allies through the Danish intelligence service.

Wikileaks, Prism and a series of intelligence projects have all revealed that the US has long engaged in indiscriminate eavesdropping and surveillance around the world. Such repeated eavesdropping scandals show that in the eyes of the US there are no real allies, as its goal is to promote its own hegemonic selfish interests.

The US claimed that the leak of these classified documents did not undermine trust and confidence with its partners, but the international community is clear that the US cannot be trusted.

The US claims to be building a "clean internet", but what it really wants is networks and technologies that allow it to steal secrets, attack other countries at will and maintain its global hegemony.

The US should immediately stop its hegemonic and bullying cyber acts and work with other countries to safeguard the world's cybersecurity and create a clean internet.