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India’s government wants total control of the internet

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Re: India’s government wants total control of the internet

#11

Post by smoldesu »

shitlord wrote: post #8
msla wrote: post #5

This is the dark side of the same impulse that compels big tech companies to follow the GDPR even though they aren't headquartered in Europe: If a big enough market is run by an insane jackass, that insane jackassery will spread through the world on the wings of corporate policy. I really wonder what's going to happen when the India-China rivalry spreads to conflicting laws for tech companies that want to do business…

Companies want to profit. They'll either be forced to follow different local laws in different locations, or they'll avoid the situation altogether. Microsoft chose the second approach and now Windows doesn't have flag emojis.

Companies do want to profit, but a lot of them (eg. Microsoft, Google, Amazon) draw the line somewhere. Many of those companies refuse to do business in China because their demands are too extreme. Other businesses that choose to operate in China are forced to lie to their customers and directly jeopardize their user's data. Look at iOS, which needs constant radical changes to comply with CCP demands. Be it changing the Taiwanese flag, moving domestic iCloud data into mainland China, or stopping protestors from using Aidrop effectively, Apple is is pretty much at their beck and call now.

I think the better model is for companies to stand by their morals (even if they're weak) rather than bending to the unique tyrannical demands of each sovereign nation. Microsoft's choice here is honestly the most admirable to me, even though I despise them as a company.

Re: India’s government wants total control of the internet

#12

Post by supriyo-biswas »

rushabh wrote: post #7

Yes there is increasing threat to freedom of speech, but India is not new to this. The left leaning Congress had even worse norms when they imposed martial law (Emergency). India has a robust sphere of public debate and draconian laws and acts of discrimination by the government are regularly criticised. In more cases than not the government embarrasses itself by its clumsy use of power to restrict opposition, like i…

It is useful to realize that either side is moved by the allure of power, and it's a fool's errand to justify the current situation with whataboutism - either instance was wrong.

Re: India’s government wants total control of the internet

#13

Post by CommanderData »

The documentary produced by the BBC "The Modi Question", was uploaded onto YouTube several times the week of release but taken down by request of the Indian Government.

I was astonished a foreign entity can stop the world watching something if they don't like it, it wasn't just geo blocked it was removed off YouTube.

Re: India’s government wants total control of the internet

#14

Post by vijaybritto »

boh wrote: post #10

The main priority of "Big tech" is profitability not freedom. They're not "giving in" as much as they're following a business model to maximize revenue. Ultimately internet censorship will benefit the biggest companies who are able to keep up with the regulations. It will effectively grant them unofficial monopolies as smaller companies struggle to keep up.

IMO I dont think this is true. If that was the case then big tech wouldn't have closed shop in Russia for their crimes.

Their morality is just conditional

Re: India’s government wants total control of the internet

#15

Post by garettmd »

CommanderData wrote: post #13

The documentary produced by the BBC "The Modi Question", was uploaded onto YouTube several times the week of release but taken down by request of the Indian Government. I was astonished a foreign entity can stop the world watching something if they don't like it, it wasn't just geo blocked it was removed off YouTube.

China's done similar things, the most prominent I can think of being them bullying the NBA into policing what their players can say.

Re: India’s government wants total control of the internet

#16

Post by somat »

unpopularopp wrote: post #9

We already have "multiple Internets". See China, there is barely anything common ground between the services "we" use and China use.

Applications of the internet are not the internet. However, more specifically, I don't think you can have more than one internet[1]. it is like the universe, by definition that is the whole thing[2]. The instant a network connects to the internet, it becomes part of the internet.

1. there are really two definitions of the internet. A. the set of networks that use the internet protocol. B. the sum of all interconnected networks.

2. But what about the multiverse? you loudly exclaim. Like I said by definition the universe is the whole thing. even once you expand your domain past it's original boundary the whole thing is still the universe. your original domain would now be considered a subverse.

Re: India’s government wants total control of the internet

#17

Post by unpopularopp »

CommanderData wrote: post #13

The documentary produced by the BBC "The Modi Question", was uploaded onto YouTube several times the week of release but taken down by request of the Indian Government. I was astonished a foreign entity can stop the world watching something if they don't like it, it wasn't just geo blocked it was removed off YouTube.

But it's on the iPlayer and works perfectly? So you can watch it in your own country https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0dkb144

Re: India’s government wants total control of the internet

#18

Post by hef19898 »

vijaybritto wrote: post #14
boh wrote: post #10

The main priority of "Big tech" is profitability not freedom. They're not "giving in" as much as they're following a business model to maximize revenue. Ultimately internet censorship will benefit the biggest companies who are able to keep up with the regulations. It will effectively grant them unofficial monopolies as smaller companies struggle to keep up.

IMO I dont think this is true. If that was the case then big tech wouldn't have closed shop in Russia for their crimes. Their morality is just conditional

One word: sanctions. And breaking those is expensive in more than one way.

Re: India’s government wants total control of the internet

#19

Post by themitigating »

boh wrote: post #10

The main priority of "Big tech" is profitability not freedom. They're not "giving in" as much as they're following a business model to maximize revenue. Ultimately internet censorship will benefit the biggest companies who are able to keep up with the regulations. It will effectively grant them unofficial monopolies as smaller companies struggle to keep up.

What does this have to do with the article on the Indian government increasing control of the internet?

Re: India’s government wants total control of the internet

#20

Post by supriyo-biswas »

vijaybritto wrote: post #14
boh wrote: post #10

The main priority of "Big tech" is profitability not freedom. They're not "giving in" as much as they're following a business model to maximize revenue. Ultimately internet censorship will benefit the biggest companies who are able to keep up with the regulations. It will effectively grant them unofficial monopolies as smaller companies struggle to keep up.

IMO I dont think this is true. If that was the case then big tech wouldn't have closed shop in Russia for their crimes. Their morality is just conditional

Their morality is guided by the Overton window[1] of what most customers and employees find acceptable.

Being based out of mostly western countries, corporations like Google and Microsoft found the belief system of quitting Russian business initiatives as most acceptable to the public, and hence executed that plan. A western worldview where it may have been more acceptable for Russia to initiate a war would have resulted in a different outcome.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overton_window

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