Human Rights Colloquium: Digital Totalitarianism and its Impact on China’s Human Rights and Civil Society

Date: 19 November 2025Time: 18:00 – 19:30Location: Schillerstraße 29, 91054, Erlangen, Seminar Room

This FAU CHREN Human Rights Colloquium will be held on 19 November 2025 from 6 to 7:30 pm and will feature Dr. Teng Biao as speaker and Dr. Alexandra Kaiser as chair.

Description

The rapid development of digital technologies has enabled unprecedented forms of state control. The Chinese government has effectively utilized artificial intelligence, big data, surveillance systems, and digital platforms to strengthen its high-tech, 2.0 version of totalitarian governance. Different from traditional methods that are still in use - secret police, arbitrary detention, and collective punishment, this new totalitarian model shapes individual behavior through predictive policing, digital panopticon, the social credit system, and new incentives for self-censorship, which has a profound impact on China’s human rights situation, resistance and civil society.

Speaker Bio

Teng Biao is a human rights lawyer and a Visiting Fellow at the Chair for Human Rights Law, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU). He holds a PhD in law from Peking University and has previously served as Lecturer at the China University of Politics and Law in Beijing, Pozen Visiting Professor at the University of Chicago, Hauser Human Rights Scholar at Hunter College (City University of New York), and as a visiting fellow at the New York University, Harvard, Yale, and Princeton's Institute for Advanced Study. Dr Teng co-founded two human rights NGOs in Beijing – the Open Constitution Initiative in 2003 and China Against the Death Penalty in 2010. His current research covers China’s human rights, social movements, law and politics, and transnational repression. His Visiting Fellowship at FAU is made possible by support of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.

Disclaimer/Media Notice

Photos and/or videos may be taken during this event for FAU CHREN’s documentation and public outreach (e.g., website, social media). By attending, you consent to this use — unless you inform us otherwise in advance or during the event. If you do not wish to appear in photos or videos, please let the organizing team know in advance or upon arrival.

☑️ RSVP

If you are planning to attend, please reserve a place by email to nathalie.schneider@fau.de and alexandra.ak.kaiser@fau.de

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Event Details

Date:
19 November 2025
Time:
18:00 – 19:30
Location:

Schillerstraße 29, 91054, Erlangen, Seminar Room

Event Categories:
FAU CHREN