Interrogating the standardisation of surveillance in 5G amid US–China competition

In this article we show that the 5G competition between the United States and Western Europe versus China is not reflected in the standardisation of lawful interception (LI) technologies in the world’s leading telecommunications standardisation body, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). Guided by the concept of infrastructure as a site and tool of political contestation, we develop a new approach to the study of Internet governance and standard-setting processes that leverages web scraping and computer-assisted document set discovery software tools. We bring these methods into conversation with theoretical approaches from material media studies, science and technology studies, and international relations. The 3GPP is the main telecommunications standardisation body and the only consortium developing standards to fulfil the ITU’s criteria for the 5th generation of telecommunications technology (5G). The 3GPP therefore is a strategic venue to observe and interpret the politics of standardisation processes. As such, the LI-related work conducted in 3GPP exemplifies public and private actors’ capacity to influence global surveillance standards and export their surveillance technologies. While European and United States governments engage in the standardisation of surveillance technologies, the Chinese government does not do this in the 3GPP. This fuels distrust in 5G technologies. We argue that further integration of China in standardisation could function as a trust-building measure.