why only companies in china? we know for a fact that apple or microsoft have backdoors that US government (and Israeli looking at this year events) can leverage to enact pretty much what they deem as natitonal interest
You're going to have to clarify what you're talking about. These claims I've tended to find actually confuse several issues and misconstrue reality, intentionally or unintentionally.
For example, the US has the FISA courts with all that entails (eg National Security Letters, pen registers). There is a legal framework for this whether you like it or not. My personal view is that the whole FISA system is overreach open to abuse that lacks transparency. But at least Federal judges are still involved in the process.
Or are you talking about something else? Something extrajudicial perhaps?
For example, countries (including the US) use allied intelligence agencies as an end run around their own laws. The NSA has certain restrictions on spying on US citizens that, say, Germany or Israel do not. So the NSA can get counterparts to do their dirty work and in turn the NSA does their dirty work.
Is that what you mean? If so, what's the relevance here? If not, then what?
Oddly, you're trying to challenge a claim about covert technical intelligence mechanisms with descriptions of legal mechanisms governing surveillance. That's like responding to complaints about trespassing with the legal code governing rentals.
In any case, we do have examples of exactly what the gp is talking about.
For instance, this one, which subsequently backfired:
> The NSA has certain restrictions on spying on US citizens that, say, Germany or Israel do not. So the NSA can get counterparts to do their dirty work and in turn the NSA does their dirty work.
The Snowden revelations made it clear that those regulations are toothless, unenforced, and effectively just propaganda.
Seems like if you are neither in China or the US you are now some kind of third world citizen and must choose which of the above can monitor your communications
Well, you can buy from European companies like Ericsson if you want to avoid the US and China. Really though, it might be worth bringing your complaints to the European Parliament, which has allowed the EU's tech sector to stagnate almost to the point of irrelevance.
