U.S. internet companies have been on the fringes of these dilemmas because many of their websites and apps are effectively banned in China.
This Hong Kong law, however, presents the U.S. internet powers with one of those hard choices multiplied by a thousand. If they go along with Chinas new law, they risk sacrificing their principles of free expression, and will likely face backlash from American politicians and their employees.
If they dont comply, China might make it impossible for the American internet companies to continue to operate in Hong Kong. (TikTok, owned by a Chinese internet company, said it would withdraw from Hong Kong entirely.) The Chinese government might seize the tech companies offices in the city or even arrest its employees. You can imagine how the U.S. government would respond to that.
In his article, Paul suggested there might be a middle ground, allowing the U.S. companies to stay in Hong Kong and work around the law without openly flouting it. No matter the outcome, this wont be the last collision between the internets two great powers.
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Secretary of State Mike Pompeo suggested in a Fox News interview that Americans should be cautious about using social media apps from Chinese companies such as TikTok.
Some American politicians and government agencies have worried that TikTok, owned by the Chinese internet giant ByteDance, is a way for the Chinese government to collect data about Americans or spread a sanitized view of China in the rest of the world. Pompeo suggested that the White House would have more to say about this soon.
