Technology has brought greater convenience, but governments can also use it to exert political control over many aspects of people’s lives, said experts on Wednesday (Sept 25) at the Conference on Foreign Interference Tactics and Countermeasures organised by the Nanyang Technological University’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies.

For developments like smart cities, hard questions must be asked of where data collected by companies goes to, said Australian Strategic Policy Institute analyst Samantha Hoffman during a panel discussion on state actors and foreign interference tactics.

Citing China’s social credit system as an example, she said: “The data filters into multiple products. So if you say something political on (Chinese messaging system) WeChat and it affects whether you are seen as an honest person… data is integrated into something that affects other aspects of your life.”