That we are free, for now, to talk about how extreme corrupt US is, gets drowned out by shills simping for how awesome our rulers are. Freedom of speech becomes funding lies and divisiveness. Every country that adopts US like free speach laws turns out to have total political class unanimity about CIA/Israel's right for supremacist rule over them and world.
We have surveillance too. China uses it to eliminate bike theft, and permits unattended public ebike charging.
Control
We have a very strong order with total control over us for benefit of oligarchy. It is so expensive to participate/change democracy that appeal to the oligarchy is necessary. Chuck Schumer openly brags that his job is to gaslight the left into supporting Israel, and the coincidence that is only money for war, and never any for progressive agenda is gaslighting by design. Control is a loaded word, in that if you want to control against CIA destabilization or subjugation of your rulers, you have to. The Paris Commune was most ideal government ever implemented, but lack of control/security against an Oligarchy who needs to destroy it to not look so bad in comparison, was the failure point. FBI has been involved in sabotaging US political movements many times over. Green party and leader only makes any speech/efforts 2 months before election.
It's easy to accuse/complain about control. Orders of magnitude more important is how corrupt and oppressive to life/prosperity (pluralist economic survival) that control is. OP article is control to support the underlying premise that we need to fund competition and war with China as the given, and that the only answer is to double our oligarchist appropriations to keep on that given path.