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Comment by bradley13 | Hacker News Reader

How do they expect to enforce this? Especially against open-source browsers, or companies without a presence in France?

One disadvantage of globalization is that you get to see the dumb ideas of all politicians. Somehow, the good ideas don't cumulate the same way...

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So easily. Step 1: pass law. Step 2: for infinging projects with > $x stars on $whatever issue C&D under threat of $consequence.

If you believe tangling with state-sponsored legal machinery is no big deal, I feel sorry for you.

> How do they expect to enforce this? Especially against open-source browsers, or companies without a presence in France?

I don't have an answer to your question, but China seems to be successful with the internet censorship thing.

China doesn't do their censoring on the browser level though?

> China seems to be successful with the internet censorship thing.

Domestically sure but I see stuff about the Tiananmen Square massacre and even whinny the pooh all the time. I don't even go out of my way to look for it.

Presumably they could ban the sites that host these non-compliant browsers (whack-a-mole for sure), and/or make it illegal to have one installed on your computer.

They can ban it from appstore/googleplay, with the provision that it should be banned for ALL countries, or else.

Or else what? What ability would any country have to demand that an app be removed from offer outside of their jurisdiction?

It has been seen in the form "if you don't comply then your operation in the country will be considered illegal regardless what you do locally". That carries a different weight depending on the country, e.g. missing out on the market in Greenland isn't going to get you much but not being able to participate in the Chinese market can be a big hit. Movies are a more classic example of this push.

- Or else pay fine

- Then pay 10x fine

- Then appstore is banned

- Then 100x fine

- Then your employees in the country are arrested and held as hostages

As someone from a country that turned into totalitarian shithole in mere 10 years, that "pfft I don't care they won't enforce it" attitude looks dangerous and shortsighted.

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