I'm fine with banning all apps from countries that require their app-makers to share data with the government. If that requires an international treaty to codify when a company must share data (e.g. only with a criminal warrant), then great, let's do that.
China would refuse to sign that treaty? Even better.
You do realize that this would effectively ban American apps outside of the US? I live in a country that is quite cozy with the US, yet our governments usually have to reject American software since there is no protection for our citizens. Now imagine that applied to the population as a whole.
The US government obviously won't ban apps for cooperating with the US government, that doesn't make sense.
But other governments should ban such apps. The CLOUD Act drafts all American tech companies into the US intelligence gathering apparatus; all American companies providing services to foreigners are legally compelled to be spies. EU laws that require EU data to be stored in the EU? Nullified! The CLOUD Act undercuts any foreign data residency laws by requiring US companies to hand over even that data which is stored in other countries. All US tech companies are required by law to participate in espionage. The EU should respond by banning all American apps in the EU (but won't, for obvious realpolitik reasons.)
Agreed, the USGOV needs to expand this and just like with tariffs respond symmetrically to China's hostile laws against american companies there. Any restrictions they place on american companies should translate to similar restrictions against their companies in the US (actually more restrictions since their companies are CCP controlled to the most part).
Certainly Europe would be better off if they took this approach and banned all American apps. American techies have no respect for European privacy laws and will never faithfully follow the spirit of such laws, or even the letter.
I think the longer they wait, the worse it will hurt.
They're caught in a bramble bush and getting themselves unstuck is going to get them scratched up. But the longer they put off freeing themselves, the more the bramble grows around them. They should have done it years ago. They should do it now, before the "Trusted Computing" trap slams shut forever.
Being in the US, I don't think that would affect me too much, except for, of course, TikTok, which I don't have anyway.
Finally, this hypothetical would say "a recipient country may ban the app." It wouldn't say "shall ban the app." So your country can just decide to keep using whatever they like.
I'm fine with banning all apps from countries that require their app-makers to share data with the government. If that requires an international treaty to codify when a company must share data (e.g. only with a criminal warrant), then great, let's do that.
China would refuse to sign that treaty? Even better.