Procurement Labels as Cheap Political Signals

Government procurement‑style designations (e.g., 'supply chain risk') can be deployed as public punishments that look severe but, because of narrow legal scope and private‑sector interdependence, often have limited operational impact. Markets and courts frequently treat these moves as political signaling, and big vendors’ commercial stakes and lobbying capacity blunt the measure’s bite. — If true, this reframes many headline regulatory threats (blacklists, designations, supervisory letters) as political theater rather than decisive instruments, altering how we evaluate state power versus private platforms in tech governance.