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Google, in Post-Obama Era, Aggressively Woos Republicans

nytimes.com

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Re: Google, in Post-Obama Era, Aggressively Woos Republicans

#21

Post by arebop »

rudolf0 wrote: post #17
wmeredith wrote: post #4

Gross. I thought a Google in bed with the Obama administration was unsettling. One in bed with the GOP and Trump is terrifying. Google has the keys to the muslim registry, and every other kind of registry you could imagine in every country it operates.

I doubt Google or any other SV corporation would ever agree to help with a Muslim registry. Even if somehow the top leadership of such a company were to agree (which I doubt), you'd see defections, sabotage, and heavy leaks almost immediately.

Palantir being the exception that proves the rule.

Re: Google, in Post-Obama Era, Aggressively Woos Republicans

#22

Post by protomyth »

abraves10001 wrote: post #20
leesalminen wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The typical hire former government workers to lobby current government might also be in danger if the President goes through with his anti-lobbyist rule changes. This is one thing that I'm really looking forward to.

I mean I understand that we don't want stagnation of ideas and certain sects continuously ruling government. However, the reason that they are lobbyists is because they are generally experts on the subjects, in no small part due to their government experience. Removing all former government workers as lobbyists a blanket move is heavy-handed and poorly thought out.

Your version sounds good, but that's not the majority of what happens. They are lobbyists because they know people and its often a cushy, legal payoff for employees who helped the company secure and manage contracts while in government service. The most common reward is as an employee hire after they retire from government services, but the lobbyists often have their origin in the same process.

Re: Google, in Post-Obama Era, Aggressively Woos Republicans

#23

Post by mrtksn »

Depending on how Protectionist Trump actually becomes, global companies like Google and Facebook may have huge challenges.

Russia and China already had the idea of local alternatives and the EU was pushing for data protection for a while.

Governments might decide that it is not good idea give that much information about their population to the USA and maybe we will see the end of truly global companies.

It might be good for Apple though, as with it's strict data collection limitations.

Re: Google, in Post-Obama Era, Aggressively Woos Republicans

#24

Post by TallGuyShort »

mrtksn wrote: post #23

Depending on how Protectionist Trump actually becomes, global companies like Google and Facebook may have huge challenges. Russia and China already had the idea of local alternatives and the EU was pushing for data protection for a while. Governments might decide that it is not good idea give that much information about their population to the USA and maybe we will see the end of truly global companies. It might be g…

I think you mean, "the end of truly global companies in the U.S." I firmly believe a protectionist stance here is hurting the US as much as anyone else.

Re: Google, in Post-Obama Era, Aggressively Woos Republicans

#25

Post by elastic_church »

alphonsegaston wrote: post #8

I'm not optimistic, but I hope that the Trump era finally puts an end to the illusions people had about tech giants as a vehicle for social progress. We're stepping into an era of extreme inequality, authoritarianism, and intolerance, all borne on the back of their rise. They may not be the origin of these trends, but they certainly rode them to tremendous wealth without anything besides the most superficial concerns…

Well if its any consolation, there's a 10 years younger version of you that will be duped into the same illusion.

Maybe all those people that are fawning over "B-corporations"

Re: Google, in Post-Obama Era, Aggressively Woos Republicans

#27

Post by elastic_church »

rudolf0 wrote: post #17
wmeredith wrote: post #4

Gross. I thought a Google in bed with the Obama administration was unsettling. One in bed with the GOP and Trump is terrifying. Google has the keys to the muslim registry, and every other kind of registry you could imagine in every country it operates.

I doubt Google or any other SV corporation would ever agree to help with a Muslim registry. Even if somehow the top leadership of such a company were to agree (which I doubt), you'd see defections, sabotage, and heavy leaks almost immediately.

or a run of the mill gag order that lasts for a decade

but okay....

Re: Google, in Post-Obama Era, Aggressively Woos Republicans

#28

Post by tyingq »

rudolf0 wrote: post #17
wmeredith wrote: post #4

Gross. I thought a Google in bed with the Obama administration was unsettling. One in bed with the GOP and Trump is terrifying. Google has the keys to the muslim registry, and every other kind of registry you could imagine in every country it operates.

I doubt Google or any other SV corporation would ever agree to help with a Muslim registry. Even if somehow the top leadership of such a company were to agree (which I doubt), you'd see defections, sabotage, and heavy leaks almost immediately.

Julian Assange's story about his encounter with Google leadership was fairly chilling. Even taking him with a (big) grain of salt...

https://wikileaks.org/google-is-not-what-it-seems/

Re: Google, in Post-Obama Era, Aggressively Woos Republicans

#29

Post by TorKlingberg »

protomyth wrote: post #3

This is probably going to be a hard problem for a lot of companies. Spending quite a lot of money on Democrats and little on Republicans looked like a good strategy given the polling, but now they have to deal with a office holder that is not the least concerned with building bridges and has a bit of vengeful streak. Not to mention all the contacts they have built up in the permanent staff might not be there as long…

I wonder if Google employees will revolt, if the company does as you suggest and order them to not say or do anything that might anger Trump.

Re: Google, in Post-Obama Era, Aggressively Woos Republicans

#30

Post by rm_-rf_slash »

mrtksn wrote: post #23

Depending on how Protectionist Trump actually becomes, global companies like Google and Facebook may have huge challenges. Russia and China already had the idea of local alternatives and the EU was pushing for data protection for a while. Governments might decide that it is not good idea give that much information about their population to the USA and maybe we will see the end of truly global companies. It might be g…

Maybe...VK and RenRen are definitively the Facebooks of Russia and China, respectively, but I doubt you'll see widespread adoption of a "Facebook of Senegal" or Kiribati or Ecuador anytime soon. I couldn't even imagine an analogue to Facebook within the West.

Personally, I think the distribution is a good thing. It's not as if Facebook is creating better people. It's more likely that social networks are exacerbating biases, and so a global social network only creates an easier subset of people to manipulate.

Global capitalism hasn't exactly been a boon to humanity. Cheaper stuff comes at human costs, whether it's sugar or cotton or diamonds or iPhones. If a global institution is to better humanity, I wouldn't bet on it taking the form of a for-profit corporation.

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