Well..Google has as more than legal power to take care of itself, will be interesting.
Is billionaire VC Peter Thiel trying to break up Google?
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Re: Is billionaire VC Peter Thiel trying to break up Google?
#12His words haven't matched his actions for quite some time now, with the common theme being whatever is good for Mr. P. Thiel is what he's up to, prior pontifications be damned. Free speech --> Sue a magazine Capitalism rules --> Sue because a company is too powerful For a self proclaimed libertarian, his actions are about as libertarian as a baked potato.
> Free speech --> Sue a magazine Free speech doesn’t mean freedom from being held to account for your speech.
That's exactly what it means; it's freedom from being held to account by at least some groups. Which ones being a matter of debate.
Re: Is billionaire VC Peter Thiel trying to break up Google?
#13His words haven't matched his actions for quite some time now, with the common theme being whatever is good for Mr. P. Thiel is what he's up to, prior pontifications be damned. Free speech --> Sue a magazine Capitalism rules --> Sue because a company is too powerful For a self proclaimed libertarian, his actions are about as libertarian as a baked potato.
For me, it is not a free speech issue, it is just eye opening how personal he takes Gawker's case and how vengeful he could be, which really reveals some interesting aspects of his personality as a billionaire.
Re: Is billionaire VC Peter Thiel trying to break up Google?
#14I wonder why Google in particular and not the others like Facebook, Microsoft, Amazon etc. who enjoy similar market power?
Well, Peter Thiel is on the board of Facebook...
Surprisingly few people in the tech media seem to be aware of this.
But I'm not sure I'm too mad about someone trying to take down Google a notch. My only worry is not that people are starting to believe Silicon Valley companies can do no wrong anymore, but that the government will exploit the situation to force backdoors, censorship, and other stuff like that on them. And we're already seeing that. Feinstein and others are now trying to take advantage of the "hate on tech companies" to push for encryption backdoors by also arguing about how "out of control" tech companies are, which is starting to ring a bell in people's heads.
I probably mentioned this a few times in the past few years, but Google and Facebook and others should not be taking advantage of the good will of people to constantly maximize their profits. Eventually that good will is going to run-up, and then they'll be in Uber's situation, where few people defend them anymore. And then they're in trouble, because if the people don't defend them anymore, then the government will have free reign against them.
But they've always ignored this, because they've always seen such warnings as only coming from a "vocal minority" so they didn't care. I remember even comments from here post-Snowden, about how Google doesn't care about end-to-end encryption just to gain the trust of a few HNers. But they've forgotten that Chrome built a reputation and a fanbase "on the backs" of people like that. Without people like that preaching how much better Chrome is than Firefox and IE, Chrome may have been relegated to Opera status.
Perhaps instead of seeing tech enthusiasts as a "vocal minority", Google should see them as an "army of unpaid PR agents", working every day either to raise them up or bring them down if they start doing nasty stuff. That might change their perspective a bit on how to approach the criticism coming from enthusiasts.
Re: Is billionaire VC Peter Thiel trying to break up Google?
#15Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Free speech --> Sue a magazine Free speech doesn’t mean freedom from being held to account for your speech.
held to account != able to be sued legally. i agree that getting protested is one thug but getting sued and shut down is a legal issue which is contrary to free speech
No, it's not. Freedom of speech doesn't cover slander/libel. Freedom of speech means government can't put you in a cage for your expressed ideas (with few exceptions, like yelling fire in a theater).
Re: Is billionaire VC Peter Thiel trying to break up Google?
#16I think we've seen Thiel do this before, indirectly fund opposition to organizations he doesn't like when he can't attack them directly. He's also funded lots of politicians that work quite hard to restrict rights at every level of government, including, frankly, that are rather adamantly against equal rights for gay people. He's a great representation that some people will align themselves with anyone to further the…
He's quite clear about multiculturalism and diversity - he is criticizing the premise that pushing the people "who look different, but think alike" is not as productive as progressives think. He wants the diversity of ideas, regardless of ethnicities and skin colors.
Re: Is billionaire VC Peter Thiel trying to break up Google?
#17I think we've seen Thiel do this before, indirectly fund opposition to organizations he doesn't like when he can't attack them directly. He's also funded lots of politicians that work quite hard to restrict rights at every level of government, including, frankly, that are rather adamantly against equal rights for gay people. He's a great representation that some people will align themselves with anyone to further the…
Seems clear you are eluding to his endorsement and $1m contribution to the Trump campaign.
We share different views - I am happy to disagree with you because I think Peter Thiel is to be commended for conducting business in line with his own philosophical & political views: this is perhaps the entire goal of business.
From my perspective, he clearly sees the need for change in this world and works diligently to see that his vision can come about via the best possible tool that one has to do that: business.
Just so happens he has the means to move a lot of capital around so his vision can more easily come about - here's rooting for him and his libertarian visions to come true.
Re: Is billionaire VC Peter Thiel trying to break up Google?
#18I think we've seen Thiel do this before, indirectly fund opposition to organizations he doesn't like when he can't attack them directly. He's also funded lots of politicians that work quite hard to restrict rights at every level of government, including, frankly, that are rather adamantly against equal rights for gay people. He's a great representation that some people will align themselves with anyone to further the…
Seems clear you are eluding to his endorsement and $1m contribution to the Trump campaign. We share different views - I am happy to disagree with you because I think Peter Thiel is to be commended for conducting business in line with his own philosophical & political views: this is perhaps the entire goal of business. From my perspective, he clearly sees the need for change in this world and works diligently to see t…
No, I'm pretty sure he's referring to the whole Gawker vs. Hulk Hogan trial thing, which was one of the biggest attacks on freedom of the press in recent history. Whether you believe Gawker deserved it or not, he used Terry Bollea (Hogan) as a prop to push his own agenda.
Re: Is billionaire VC Peter Thiel trying to break up Google?
#19I think we've seen Thiel do this before, indirectly fund opposition to organizations he doesn't like when he can't attack them directly. He's also funded lots of politicians that work quite hard to restrict rights at every level of government, including, frankly, that are rather adamantly against equal rights for gay people. He's a great representation that some people will align themselves with anyone to further the…
> the "dangers" of multiculturalism, gender and ethnic diversity
I don't know if "dangers" is your word or his, but it's been shown (a priori and a posteriori) that multiculturalism and ethnic diversity erodes trust and causes social strive.
This is opposed to cultural pluralism, where a dominant culture exists and tolerates additional values that don't erode or threaten the dominant culture.
The reason I comment is because I sense once again an attempt to shame Thiel for his views rather than parse them for merit. During last year's election we had a similar form of hysteria in these threads because Thiel dared to exercise his right to donate to a cause he supports.
Really wish this 'shame as an argument' tactic would cease.
Edit to provide evidence of the 'downside of diversity': http://archive.boston.com/news/globe/ideas/articles/2007/08/...
Re: Is billionaire VC Peter Thiel trying to break up Google?
#20I think we've seen Thiel do this before, indirectly fund opposition to organizations he doesn't like when he can't attack them directly. He's also funded lots of politicians that work quite hard to restrict rights at every level of government, including, frankly, that are rather adamantly against equal rights for gay people. He's a great representation that some people will align themselves with anyone to further the…
He's quite clear about multiculturalism and diversity - he is criticizing the premise that pushing the people "who look different, but think alike" is not as productive as progressives think. He wants the diversity of ideas, regardless of ethnicities and skin colors.
"I don't think people should all think alike, so I'll attack anyone who disagrees with me".
Sound reasoning.