I'm not surprised.
Joining Apple, Amazon’s China Cloud Service Bows to Censors
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Re: Joining Apple, Amazon’s China Cloud Service Bows to Censors
#72What are they supposed to do? Either they comply or they leave the Chinese market. It's that simple. I hope people don't fault these companies for playing ball with a communist government.
I thought you were only supposed to comply with laws you like. ;)
Re: Joining Apple, Amazon’s China Cloud Service Bows to Censors
#73What are they supposed to do? Either they comply or they leave the Chinese market. It's that simple. I hope people don't fault these companies for playing ball with a communist government.
Perhaps a naïve question but I mean it honestly: What relevance does communism have here? Is "communist" just being used as a synonym for corrupt or is there another meaning? I'm not American so I suspect I don't associate communism with the same things you do.
"Communist" implies authoritarian, as in a one-party state.
Re: Joining Apple, Amazon’s China Cloud Service Bows to Censors
#74What are they supposed to do? Either they comply or they leave the Chinese market. It's that simple. I hope people don't fault these companies for playing ball with a communist government.
Which basically ends up to the classic deontological vs consequentialist ethic theories. I believe though that if enough companies like Amazon and Google won't accept the conditions imposed by the government then, after some time, they may decide to change their politics.
Sure. A cabal of tough-as-nails Chinese leaders who lived through the cultural revolution and command the largest standing army on earth will change their politics because Jeff Bezos gives them the cold shoulder.
This is western arrogance at its peak.
Re: Joining Apple, Amazon’s China Cloud Service Bows to Censors
#75It's no surprise. Even if Apple or Amazon wanted to resist this, they won't get any competent support from the current US administration. The strategy for the time being seems to be "don't rock the boat" for US businesses right now.
What? Why do they need support from the adminstration. Either they do business in China, and implicity endorse all the anti-freedom, or they do not. Sure it would cost them revenue and share price. Well right and wrong are not economic propositions.
Seems like we've had these Engagement vs Isolation conversations before in the US.
Re: Joining Apple, Amazon’s China Cloud Service Bows to Censors
#76So again, companies are fighting and vocal about "freedom", equality, lgbt rights etc only when it's convinient for them, as soon as they see that it might make them lose money - they will do whatever it takes to keep that cash flowing. Look at Tim Cook, how vocal he was in US with his LGBT support and anti-Trump position and other topics, but as soon as he sees that he can lose cash from China he does almost the sam…
Tim Cook runs a multi-national corporation. His obligation is to a shareholders as CEO. It is a simple as that. A lot of us don’t agree with these policy decisions by these companies, but there they are.
Whatever the truth of fiduciary duty may be, it is definitely not any company's fiduciary duty under American law to expand to China and serve customers there, even if it would make investors more money.
Re: Joining Apple, Amazon’s China Cloud Service Bows to Censors
#77Earlier quoted context omitted.
I take your point, but China specifically has an absysmal, wretched human rights record.
So fits well with companies from the US, which also specifically has an appalling human rights record.
Interesting ... how many dissidents are currently rotting in Google's prisons?
Re: Joining Apple, Amazon’s China Cloud Service Bows to Censors
#78fyi AWS China is different from aws worldwide. It has its own portal https://www.amazonaws.cn , different set of services, policies, etc. Many cool fancy new features on aws worldwide is not available on aws china. Some of the differences even breaks third party libraries. e.g. some version of boto.
Does it belong to Amazon.com or does it not?
Depends what you mean by "belong to", from the linked article:
China requires foreign companies have a local partner and restricts them from owning a controlling stake in any cloud company
Re: Joining Apple, Amazon’s China Cloud Service Bows to Censors
#79Re: Joining Apple, Amazon’s China Cloud Service Bows to Censors
#80Earlier quoted context omitted.
> he does almost the same thing as what he is fighting against in US That's baloney, they are not remotely the same thing.
"As expected, Apple CEO Tim Cook accepted the Free Expression Award at the Newseum in Washington D.C. tonight. At the event, Cook was presented the award and made brief comments on what it means to him and Apple, as well as touching on the importance of companies taking a stance…" [1] [1] - https://9to5mac.com/2017/04/18/tim-cook-free-expression-awar...
I'm not disputing the idea that Tim Cook has taken stances on certain issues including human rights. I'm disputing the idea that by complying with a Chinese law means he's "doing almost the same thing as what he's fighting against". That's rubbish.