In Brazil, complete detachment would be unfeasible, as the country depends on services such as Gmail, iPhone, WhatsApp, Card Systems and Cloud Infrastructure, all linked to American companies
The Magnitsk Law, which imposes sanctions on individuals and entities for human rights violations, highlights the global dependence of the United States on digital, financial and technological infrastructure. Despite the growth of powers such as China and Russia, the United States maintains its central position in global power without viable substitutes. The sanctions based on magnitsky law demonstrate that American influence goes beyond the political field. Companies like Google, Apple, Amazon, Meta and Microsoft dominate essential services, from cloud and communication to bank applications and smartphones. People, companies and governments, regardless of their location, are interconnected to the United States in some way.
While China and Russia have their own big techs, such as Tencent and Huawei, they face global distrust and technical limitations. The lack of transparency, state control and history of censorship and espionage weigh against these companies. Huawei, for example, has been banned from several countries on suspicion of compromising networking. The United States, on the other hand, offer an ecosystem supported by innovation, universities, risk capital, private companies and an open market. This combination, coupled with legal certainty, attracts international partners and fosters a global cycle of voluntary adoption.
Russia and China seek to reduce their dependence on the United States, investing in their own technology and alternative markets. However, they face challenges of scale, interoperability, quality and confidence. Mass adoption of Chinese or Russian services still faces political, technical and economic resistance. In Brazil, for example, a complete US detachment would be unfeasible, as the country depends on services such as Gmail, iPhone, WhatsApp, cloud card and infrastructure systems, all linked to American companies.
Magnitsky law, therefore, is more than a foreign policy tool; It is a showcase of the structural reach of the United States in the world, showing that digital and economic sovereignty is directly linked to American infrastructure. United States’s ability to impose effective sanctions and to influence global policy through their technology companies emphasize the importance of their infrastructure on the international scenario. Thus, magnitsk law not only reinforces the position of the United States as a global leader, but also underlines world interdependence in relation to its technological and financial infrastructure.
*With information from Eliseu Caetano
