CONCLUSIONS, REFLECTIONS, AND NEXT STEPS: FIGHTING BACK AGAINST DIGITAL AUTHORITARIANISM AS SERVICE Conclusions, Reflections, and Next Steps: Fighting Back Against Digital Authoritarianism as Service This research and the data uncovered in the leak provide unprecedented insight into Geedge’s products and services, how the company exports these technologies, and how client governments are using them for digital repression. In describing these capabilities and operations, this report has outlined how Geedge has been able to effectively export digital authoritarianism as a managed service. Authoritarian governments no longer need to rely on ad-hoc, patchwork systems for internet control—Geedge delivers a comprehensive, turn-key suite of precision surveillance and censorship tools, also providing ongoing technical support and regular updates. While the company presents itself as a standard cybersecurity firm, it's actually selling Great Firewall-style capabilities to governments in Kazakhstan, Ethiopia, Pakistan and Myanmar as well as the unidentified A24 client. It is also working with regional governments within China. The technology includes deep packet inspection, location tracking, traffic monitoring, website and VPN blocking, user identification, reputation scoring, and even malware deployment. These tools integrate easily with existing infrastructure and work directly through internet service providers. The company provides no ethical safeguards or transparency about how user data is collected, stored, or shared, creating serious concerns for data sovereignty since company employees appear to have access to user information. Our research has highlighted the company's operations and technical capabilities. In this final section, we aim to discuss implications of our findings for internet freedom advocates, technology stakeholders, and affected populations, as well as potential responses. Implications for the International Community These findings raise important questions about the evolving landscape of internet governance and underscore the need for a broader discussion about the implications of these trends as well as urgent collective strategizing and action. The revelations about Geedge Networks’s systems and operations highlight just how fragile and fractured the global internet has become. While China’s leadership articulates principles of sovereignty, the actions of companies like Geedge raise questions about the potential for indirect interference in the political affairs of other nations through the provision of censorship and surveillance technologies. Our research suggests that Geedge Networks’s capabilities have been leveraged to extend the ability of actors like the military junta in Myanmar to suppress dissent and opposition following the 2021 coup, which overthrew the elected government. As this model spreads, democratic governments face the risk of further erosion of the open internet. The increasing appeal of a more centralized and controlled approach to the internet, as well as the ease with which companies like Geedge Networks can supply the ... 62