The Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games will not escape political issues, and several delegations will take significant steps regarding the use of technology. At least the athletes from the United States, Great Britain and the Netherlands do not travel with their own cell phones, tablets or computers.
The Chinese government has a high level of internet surveillance and its citizens do not have access to Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, Netflix and whatsapp, among others. Other similar platforms are used in the Asian country, such as Weibo, through which Peng Shuai accused the former vice president of China, Zhang Gaoli, for sexual abuse... days later the tennis player disappeared.
The Chinese government has promised to guarantee unlimited use of the aforementioned social networks, as well as access to other websites, however, that same promise was made for the 2008 Olympic Games, during which, journalists they complained about having sites like the BBC blocked.
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To the Olympic Games, with disposable cell phones
The Netherlands and Great Britain were the first to advise their athletes not to travel with electronic devices or make bank transfers while in Beijing.
Each athlete will have a new cell phone, so that it will not have previous information and they will be returned to be destroyed upon their return to the country.
do any of u know how to fix this stupid keyboard, the sticky keys is already disabled 💔 it keeps spamming, i tried… https://t.co/dRzRPFNJiN
— ❥ ritsu (..•ᴗ•..)✦ Wed Jul 07 06:03:36 +0000 2021
In the United States something similar happens, as the athletes will receive a disposable phone, given the possibility that they could be hacked.
“Every device, communication, transaction and online activity can be monitored. Their devices may also be compromised with malicious software, which could negatively affect future use,” suggests the United States Olympic Committee.
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Canada has also alerted its athletes that “the Games present a unique opportunity for cybercrime” and will also provide disposable phones.
Sweden and Switzerland have also joined the dynamic "and we provide information to athletes about the situation in China in cooperation with the organization Civil Rights Defenders, so that athletes can make their own decisions about how to use personal equipment during the Olympic Games,” the Swedish committee shared.
What will happen to the Mexican athletes?
The Mexican Olympic Committee has not commented on the matter. In previous editions, the athletes who have represented Mexico have traveled with their own resources, as in the case of Hubertus von Hohenlohe, so that Mexican athletes and other countries that do not have specific protocols can follow the general recommendations.
The recommendations call for erasing all personal data before traveling to China and installing virtual private networks (VPNs) on every device you travel with.