IT-backed authoritarianism

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IT-backed authoritarianism, also known as techno-authoritarianism, digital authoritarianism or digital dictatorship,^[1][2][3] refers to the state use of information technology in order to control or manipulate both foreign and domestic populations.^[4] Tactics of digital authoritarianism may include mass surveillance including through biometrics such as facial recognition, internet firewalls and censorship, internet blackouts, disinformation campaigns, and digital social credit systems.^[5][6] Although some institutions assert that this term should only be used to refer to authoritarian governments,^[7] others argue that the tools of digital authoritarianism are being adopted and implemented by governments with "authoritarian tendencies", including democracies.^[8]

Most notably, China and Russia have leveraged the Internet and information technology to repress opposition domestically while undermining democracies abroad.^[4]