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Ohio sues Google, seeks to declare the internet company a public utility

dispatch.com

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Re: Ohio sues Google, seeks to declare the internet company a public utility

#21

Post by bobbylarrybobby »

thera2 wrote: post #18
MarkusWandel wrote: post #5

Well, a public utility also doesn't have the right to do this: "You did something wrong, we won't tell you what it was, there's no chance of appeal, and you are now banned from receiving water service again, ever, for the rest of your life, no matter where you move. And don't try moving in with someone else who's still receiving service, because they'll get banned too."

Although I understand what you're saying, email and YouTube access is not the same as water. Depriving someone of water would be the same as depriving them of life, which is not true of email, YouTube, and whatever g-services.

It’s pretty much impossible to function in modern society without an email address that you can rely on.

Re: Ohio sues Google, seeks to declare the internet company a public utility

#22

Post by ping_pong »

MarkusWandel wrote: post #5

Well, a public utility also doesn't have the right to do this: "You did something wrong, we won't tell you what it was, there's no chance of appeal, and you are now banned from receiving water service again, ever, for the rest of your life, no matter where you move. And don't try moving in with someone else who's still receiving service, because they'll get banned too."

This is a direct result of their monopoly, which is why Google should be broken up. Because they have such a huge monopoly, they can afford to ignore customers and have a draconian approach to people, and can get away with it. If there were better competition, they wouldn't have been able to ignore their customers. Breaking them up will alleviate this by ensuring that each company needs to be able to survive on their own, of which one aspect is having better customer support and service.

Re: Ohio sues Google, seeks to declare the internet company a public utility

#23

Post by [deleted] »

thera2 wrote: post #18
MarkusWandel wrote: post #5

Well, a public utility also doesn't have the right to do this: "You did something wrong, we won't tell you what it was, there's no chance of appeal, and you are now banned from receiving water service again, ever, for the rest of your life, no matter where you move. And don't try moving in with someone else who's still receiving service, because they'll get banned too."

Although I understand what you're saying, email and YouTube access is not the same as water. Depriving someone of water would be the same as depriving them of life, which is not true of email, YouTube, and whatever g-services.

[deleted]

Re: Ohio sues Google, seeks to declare the internet company a public utility

#24

Post by jolmg »

bobbylarrybobby wrote: post #21
thera2 wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Although I understand what you're saying, email and YouTube access is not the same as water. Depriving someone of water would be the same as depriving them of life, which is not true of email, YouTube, and whatever g-services.

It’s pretty much impossible to function in modern society without an email address that you can rely on.

But Google isn't the only provider of email addresses. In contrast, water utilities typically hold monopoly over their region.

EDIT: Many people are replying with some variant that the problem is that Google can block the email account that people have tied to their financial and government services.

But the same is true of any other email provider. If Google is somehow turned into a public utility, how does that solve the problem for those that are locked out of their email accounts by Fastmail, for instance? Make Fastmail a public utility too, or somehow regulate it? But it's an Australian company, so kind of outside of American jurisdiction. Or regulate the addresses themselves? Put up a law that says that only US public utilities can administer emails on the .com domain? I don't really understand what people are proposing.

Or is the proposal just to regulate gmail.com addresses in particular? Treat them as the exception and incentivize more people to use that one provider so they get the protections offered by the proposed regulation.

Re: Ohio sues Google, seeks to declare the internet company a public utility

#25

Post by Aunche »

While Google is functionally a public utility, it's not something that I want to be regulated like a public utility. If the government can't be trusted to law lines on a map that aren't blatantly rigged to favor their own political party, I can't trust that they won't tamper with search results the same way.

Re: Ohio sues Google, seeks to declare the internet company a public utility

#26

Post by [deleted] »

hirundo wrote: post #15
Hamuko wrote: post #2

So Republicans have completely flipped on the sovereignity of private companies? Or is this just posturing to please the number one of the GOP (Dave Yost filed a “friend of the court” brief in support of invalidating 2020 votes in Pennsylvania)?

You're expecting Republicans to be consistent libertarians? It seems to me that as practiced, the intersections between the two philosophies are rare and ephemeral and much more common in word than deed.

[deleted]

Re: Ohio sues Google, seeks to declare the internet company a public utility

#27

Post by darig »

bobbylarrybobby wrote: post #21
thera2 wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Although I understand what you're saying, email and YouTube access is not the same as water. Depriving someone of water would be the same as depriving them of life, which is not true of email, YouTube, and whatever g-services.

It’s pretty much impossible to function in modern society without an email address that you can rely on.

[dead]

Re: Ohio sues Google, seeks to declare the internet company a public utility

#28

Post by theandrewbailey »

mikestew wrote: post #9

A Republican seeking to "nationalize" a private company? Sounds a little...socialist, don't ya think?

What do you mean by "nationalize"? It doesn't seem like Ohio wants Google to be owned and/or run by a government. Most utilities in America aren't nationalized. Why would this be any different?

Re: Ohio sues Google, seeks to declare the internet company a public utility

#30

Post by trothamel »

While I'm not sure that a lawsuit like this is the right venue, companies like Google arguably deserve to be treated at least something like a public utility. The power and phone companies are allowed to dig or put up poles and wires where they want to - that's necessary for them to do their business.

Companies like Google (and Twitter) require special rules to function - a generous view of fair use, and things like section 230 for exemptions to copyright liability. I think they should probably get those - I'd argue that both companies improve the world, in the same way that having power lines does. But it's worth considering if stipulations should be attached.

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