> So, how would the HN crowd have addressed the perceived issue if they were in power?
Here's an idea:
For any large social network (at least 250M+ monthly active users) or big tech company to continue operations in the US and if found to have violated the privacy of its users:
Fine them up to $50M to $500M.
Repeated offences should rack up to a $1B fine and failing to comply or to continue such offences should have fines increased into the multi-billions of dollars.
Much better than this bill and even better than an outright ban.
Assuming that:
(1) there is some evidence that TikTok is used to gather information on individuals
(2) that this information makes its way to the Chinese state operatives
(3) that this is perceived to be a security risk
I find it easy to criticize this bill but I also find it hard to come up with a practical improvement over what it does.