The CIA has a history of spying on Congress[0], overthrowing democratic governments [1], among a long list of nefarious activities I would not consider proper "democratic hacking." [2]
How is obligating big tech to cooperate with Western intelligence agencies a positive move for democracies?
I'm quite skeptical of the viewpoint in this article - just answering the question from the parent comment of "would China be justified in exploiting Huawei?"
The distinction that this article makes is that our clandestine operations have "democratic oversight." To be clear, I think the author would say that they are attempting journalistic neutrality, but they're giving considerable space to the argument that democratic clandestine services deserve a different standard.
The distinction that this article makes is that our clandestine operations have "democratic oversight." To be clear, I think the author would say that they are attempting journalistic neutrality, but they're giving considerable space to the argument that democratic clandestine services deserve a different standard.