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Sundar Pichai warns of threats to internet freedom

bbc.com

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Re: Sundar Pichai warns of threats to internet freedom

#31

Post by Zenst »

systemvoltage wrote: post #19

Watched the interview and Sundar Pichai sounded so defensive and unauthentic. Why do they do these interviews? I gained absolutely nothing from it.

That is the position of many a CEO of a large company, akin to politicians in that they say lots without actually saying anything and by the time you realise that they have said nothing, they have gone.

For example "He says many countries are restricting the flow of information, and the model is often taken for granted." Shifts any blame elsewhere in a way that does not detail this model or outlines any of the issues that define the restrictions and how they effect Google. So for all we know, he could be on about data protection laws like GDPR or the like and paints them as bad without going into any details of the pro's or con's.

Remember some law/restriction that is bad for Google may actually be good for the users.

Also when I see the term "free internet" I do feel it is a misnomer in many ways, more so in the context it is used.

Re: Sundar Pichai warns of threats to internet freedom

#32

Post by nuker »

MattGaiser wrote: post #23
Sophistifunk wrote: post #2

From where I sit the #1 risk to the free and open internet these days is Google. Edit: two reasons: 1) Because adtech is destroying society. Surveillance is never good. Ads as funding smears absolutely everything with perverse incentives that act consistently against both the explicit wishes and implicit best-interests of the viewers, and (it seems moreso every year) society at large. 2) Google is doing everything it…

Ahead of all the regulation happy governments, the walled gardens, and spam/trolls making areas of the web that are not resourced largely unusable?

Google is Skynet!

Re: Sundar Pichai warns of threats to internet freedom

#33

Post by retox »

ditonal wrote: post #17
bsmith0 wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

These are the most predictable HN comments

The article is a fluff piece that's comically uncritical of Google. There's obvious hypocrisy for a company that's done all sorts of user-antagonistic things to internet users as Google has, from Google AMP stealing traffic, to PRISM actively violating the 4th amendment, to Dragonfly explicitly enabling censorship. Google's gotten away with the hypocrisy due to a relentless PR engine. Maybe if you don't like predicta…

My understanding is that Google was a target of PRISM, not complicit in it.

Re: Sundar Pichai warns of threats to internet freedom

#34

Post by denkmoon »

MattGaiser wrote: post #23
Sophistifunk wrote: post #2

From where I sit the #1 risk to the free and open internet these days is Google. Edit: two reasons: 1) Because adtech is destroying society. Surveillance is never good. Ads as funding smears absolutely everything with perverse incentives that act consistently against both the explicit wishes and implicit best-interests of the viewers, and (it seems moreso every year) society at large. 2) Google is doing everything it…

Ahead of all the regulation happy governments, the walled gardens, and spam/trolls making areas of the web that are not resourced largely unusable?

Governmental incompetence exceeds their ability to regulate. Google have the capacity to pull off a lot more than Governments.

Google would have a walled garden if they could afford to lose the users and manufacturers that would revolt against it.

Re: Sundar Pichai warns of threats to internet freedom

#35

Post by travoc »

bpodgursky wrote: post #25
ditonal wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The article is a fluff piece that's comically uncritical of Google. There's obvious hypocrisy for a company that's done all sorts of user-antagonistic things to internet users as Google has, from Google AMP stealing traffic, to PRISM actively violating the 4th amendment, to Dragonfly explicitly enabling censorship. Google's gotten away with the hypocrisy due to a relentless PR engine. Maybe if you don't like predicta…

Please don't distort the meaning of words. PR "submarine" pieces are a very real thing, but they are exactly what the phrase suggests — an article put out by a corporate PR department for publication. This was literally an interview by a real reporter, edited into an article. You might not like that the interviewer wasn't antagonistic (let's be real — most aren't!), but this is not a "PR submarine piece" by any sane…

Reprinting a single person’s viewpoints without critique or counterpoint isn’t news or “real reporting.” It’s still just a PR piece.

Re: Sundar Pichai warns of threats to internet freedom

#36

Post by retox »

Clewza313 wrote: post #29

> Third, a lot of Pichai's big bets have failed: Google Glass, Google Plus, Google Wave, Project Loon Every single one of these predates Pichai, who only became CEO in 2015: * Google Wave was already turned down in 2012 * Google Plus launched in 2011 and the writing was on the wall by 2015 * Google Glass consumer edition was discontinued in Jan 2015 before Pichai started * Loon is the only arguable exception; it was…

Now you've seen how a "journalist" doesn't have the patience to spend 60 seconds searching for something you're knowledgeable about, will you (not you specifically) take as gospel anything they say about something you're not knowledgeable about?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Crichton#GellMannAmnes...

Re: Sundar Pichai warns of threats to internet freedom

#37

Post by neolog »

acomjean wrote: post #9
Sophistifunk wrote: post #2

From where I sit the #1 risk to the free and open internet these days is Google. Edit: two reasons: 1) Because adtech is destroying society. Surveillance is never good. Ads as funding smears absolutely everything with perverse incentives that act consistently against both the explicit wishes and implicit best-interests of the viewers, and (it seems moreso every year) society at large. 2) Google is doing everything it…

How so? It seems that a search engine would need the internet to have as much information out there in the open to index and give us the results upon searching.. Because they are so dominate they exercise outsized control, but there are still a few others. Data behind paywalls/logins is useless to them.

> Data behind paywalls/logins is useless to them.

Sites are often not behind a paywall if you reach them via google (and only google).

Re: Sundar Pichai warns of threats to internet freedom

#38

Post by jeffbee »

Consultant32452 wrote: post #15
acomjean wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How so? It seems that a search engine would need the internet to have as much information out there in the open to index and give us the results upon searching.. Because they are so dominate they exercise outsized control, but there are still a few others. Data behind paywalls/logins is useless to them.

When they hide data you're obviously and explicitly looking for they are making the internet less open. Look at the google vs duckduckgo search results for this: "How a Convicted Terrorist used the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Website to Identify Targets"

[flagged]

Re: Sundar Pichai warns of threats to internet freedom

#39

Post by iratewizard »

Spooky23 wrote: post #28
Sophistifunk wrote: post #2

From where I sit the #1 risk to the free and open internet these days is Google. Edit: two reasons: 1) Because adtech is destroying society. Surveillance is never good. Ads as funding smears absolutely everything with perverse incentives that act consistently against both the explicit wishes and implicit best-interests of the viewers, and (it seems moreso every year) society at large. 2) Google is doing everything it…

Google is literally the only tech giant with an interest in the open internet. Facebook scored the mortal wound on the web — they reinvented a bigger, badder AOL closed garden.

Just like how YouTube has become a more open and free platform in their care. Or how search results have become more open and free since they dominated market share.

Re: Sundar Pichai warns of threats to internet freedom

#40

Post by echelon »

Spooky23 wrote: post #28
Sophistifunk wrote: post #2

From where I sit the #1 risk to the free and open internet these days is Google. Edit: two reasons: 1) Because adtech is destroying society. Surveillance is never good. Ads as funding smears absolutely everything with perverse incentives that act consistently against both the explicit wishes and implicit best-interests of the viewers, and (it seems moreso every year) society at large. 2) Google is doing everything it…

Google is literally the only tech giant with an interest in the open internet. Facebook scored the mortal wound on the web — they reinvented a bigger, badder AOL closed garden.

And Apple crippled the web on its locked-down as chastity iOS devices.

These companies -- all of them -- are fucking with each other. None of us matter in the end. It's all about which company can screw the other out of engagement and eyeballs.

Meanwhile Firefox, the open web, open source, right to repair, and digital ownership all wither away.

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