Beijing bugs

Senator Suspects Beijing Bugs

Reports indicate that the Chinese government is planning to spy on its Olympic guests

By Brett Zarda Posted 07.30.2008 at 11:10 am 3 Comments

Beijing Swimming Center: Photo by angus_mac_123 (CC Licensed)

How do you say "Big Brother" in Chinese? Visitors to the Beijing Olympics need to be careful what they email (and what websites they peruse) according to Senator Sam Brownback, the senior Republican from Kansas. Based on hotel documents, Brownback alleges that the Chinese government has spent millions of dollars installing spy software in major hotel chains to monitor its guests' email and web surfing.

"The Chinese government has put in place a system to spy on and gather information about every guest at hotels where Olympic visitors are staying," said Brownback.

With blogging now allowed by the International Olympic Committee, the Chinese may have plenty to monitor.

It's just the latest example of the Chinese government keeping a close eye on the Olympics. Tickets to the opening ceremony are embedded with RFID tags that hold personal information intended to verify the identity of spectator, minimize scalping and keep away protestors.