China is collecting data on Western targets from social media

China is mining data from social media networks to gather information about foreign targets and equip its government agencies, military, and police, the Washington Post reported on Friday.

In a recent investigation, the Post reviewed over 300 documents from Chinese government projects, including bidding documents, contracts, and company filings. The news outlet found that China is using a network of government data surveillance services to warn officials about politically sensitive information that is being discussed online in the west.

China’s public opinion analysis software is mainly used to monitor Internet and social media activity within China. However, since 2020, the software has also been collecting data on foreign targets from social media platforms, such as Facebook and Instagram, YouTube, and other Western platforms.

The documents also show that state agencies, including China’s state media, propaganda departments, police, and military, are investing in more sophisticated software to gather and analyze data.

The Chinese state media acquired a $320,000 software that mines information from Twitter and Facebook to create a database of foreign journalists and academics, the Post reported. Similarly, Beijing’s police recently purchased a $216,000 program that analyzes Western chatter about Hong Kong and Taiwan.

“Now we can better understand the underground network of anti-China personnel,” said a Beijing-based analyst who works for a unit reporting to China’s Central Propaganda Department.