Digital authoritarianism

Digital authoritarianism, also known as digital dictatorship, is the use of digital technologies by authoritarian regimes to monitor, control, and suppress political opposition and social dissent in both foreign and domestic populations to maintain political power and limit civil liberties. The tactics employed in the context of digital authoritarianism may include mass surveillance, including through biometric identification such as facial recognition, the implementation of internet firewalls and censorship, internet blackouts, the dissemination of disinformation campaigns, and the establishment of digital . Although some institutions assert that this term should only be used to refer to authoritarian governments, others argue that the tools of digital authoritarianism are being adopted and implemented by governments with "authoritarian tendencies", including democracies.

Notably, the Brookings Institution has accused China and Russia of leveraging the Internet and information technology to repress domestic opposition and undermine foreign democracies.