Related to a comment I made on another thread about identity, FANG companies have two leverage points in this discussion. One is they can adjust their features to the countries in question, as few democratically elected governments could win an election if their population couldn't have iphones, amazon delivery, or netflix.
The second is that without the US, sanctions against these companies are unenforceable, these companies own the digital identities of those populations, so those countries can only enforce data laws at the discretion of US authorities. They are increasingly an arm of US policy.
The bargaining chips now are between the US wanting to regulate them domestically, and foreign countries wanting control and taxation. IMO, the deal proposed by US legislators will be, "deal with us, or them," where the US can offer protection and moderate taxation in exchange for more direct surveillance and policy levers.
The real danger is new foreign tax obligations will likely be leveraged to break up the founder dictatorship equity model and create a scramble for their data assets.
The second is that without the US, sanctions against these companies are unenforceable, these companies own the digital identities of those populations, so those countries can only enforce data laws at the discretion of US authorities. They are increasingly an arm of US policy.
The bargaining chips now are between the US wanting to regulate them domestically, and foreign countries wanting control and taxation. IMO, the deal proposed by US legislators will be, "deal with us, or them," where the US can offer protection and moderate taxation in exchange for more direct surveillance and policy levers.
The real danger is new foreign tax obligations will likely be leveraged to break up the founder dictatorship equity model and create a scramble for their data assets.