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naringas

As a thought expreiment, what if Apple and Google quite simply did not comply?

Could they really ignore an executive order? Could they sue the government and get some sort of injuction?

How could the government compel them? With fines? With a police raid?

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Disobeying a national security order from the federal government typically lands you in jail.

Police raids and injunctions are both on the table.

Could these big tech firms challenge this in court? It seems like a very ambiguous use of "national security reasons".

Yes they can. And they may, but we don't know for sure whether they disagree or care to react at all.

Given the administration tends to make decisions based more on xenophobia than empirical evidence and there's good reasons to think these apps have shady data practices, nothing about this situation is clear cut.

Google, FB should try in china.

  Fighting for the freedom of chinese app to be installed in USA land but theirs can’t.  It does not fit the freedom for all concept I guess.

Who would go to jail in this scenario

They could enable side loading of apps easier.

I won’t hold my breath.

What would Google need to do to make side loading easier?

Dunno about Google, but xcode is a joke.

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/06/ubiome-suspends-clinical-ope...

They can raid the offices, shut down the company’s access to the banking system, seize assets and funds, and arrest the top executives and throw them into what is effectively a torture chamber.

So the saying the US would do the same thing China would do then?

Honestly... for all the shitty aspects of the PRC, they do execute rich/well-connected people occasionally

We just execute poor people who can only afford a piuoc defender....

What a low bar to trip over when it comes to freedom of commerce.

but rich people who break the law get house arrest and things like that

This is not like Google doing business with, say, Adobe. The federal government has absolute authority over international transactions. Their options for enforcement are extensive. Not that it would, but if it came to it, they could shatter Google all the way to the foundation.

Edit: For the galaxy-brains, me pointing out the government has the authority to do this is not an endorsement of them doing it.

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