TikTok’s Service Providers Risk Billions in Penalties for Bringing It Back Online ⇥ theverge.com

Lauren Feiner, the Verge:

Trump seems to want TikTok available for his inauguration on Monday, because “Americans deserve” to see the event. But TikTok is officially banned starting today until it sells to a non-Chinese company, and there’s no deal in sight. Flouting that ban could get Apple and Google’s app stores, as well as service providers Akamai and Oracle, dinged for potentially $850 billion in penalties. Despite all this, Trump has reportedly assured companies they won’t face these fines if they let TikTok keep operating. Now, the question is simple: will Trump-friendly companies risk breaking the law to make the president happy?

Trump is, as of writing, thirteen hours from having actual power, and already corporations and their leaders are proving their fealty. This whole spectacle is embarrassing to watch as a foreigner. Whether he is a true authoritarian or more of a La Croix-esque suggestion of an authoritarian is a matter debatable by political science types and historians. But he has still managed to get tech companies to fall in line behind his administration’s agenda. The leadership of Akamai and Oracle are quite possibly betting their companies on it. And that is before he has any power.

I am worried about how far they will go.