For example, how would they address it? Govt banning services of ByteDance Inc.? They will change their name. Services of company headquartered at 11 Example Street, ExampleTown, PRC? Change their headquarters. Services using given logo? Modify the logo. Services using given brand name? Change it slightly. IP address range? Domain name? And so on.
Internet service by one company is not trivial to address in a "ban". Unlike, for example, a chemical molecule. At least they have the experience in specifying and addressing that.
We have a rather large amount of experience with sanctions and people trying to evade them.
I think we might be able to manage to identify a company with hundreds of millions of users trying to mask themselves by... changing their name.
It's not like we're going to firewall them off. The bill bans distribution of the app in the US app stores and US companies from offering any kind of internet hosting services related to the app.
Yes, if TikTok wanted to provide an .apk from a non-US server that connects to non-US servers to operate, that would not be prohibited by this law. I'm sure there are hundreds, even thousands of current American TikTok users who would consider making use of this.
I don't think so. But you can easily switch to the Chinese app store from America, you just need RMB to buy any paid apps. You can have apps installed from both stores on your phone.
The same way that the government addresses most issues. They tell people not to do something, and if they refuse then they get fined, their assets frozen and confiscated, and eventually people are arrested.
Bytedance would have to withdraw all its assets and employees from anywhere in the west to escape the consequences.
You will find that few large US companies are looking to provoke the federal government. Apple, Google, ISPs, cloud providers, etc. will all be compelled by this law.
They have to store the data somewhere and it much more likely that they will sell than engage in value killing whack-a-mole with federal agencies
Cringey coder perspective. These ideas may avoid the letter of the law. They don’t avoid the spirit of the law. You will be punished for trying such lame evasion efforts. You can’t hide hundreds of millions of users.
Internet service by one company is not trivial to address in a "ban". Unlike, for example, a chemical molecule. At least they have the experience in specifying and addressing that.