The announcement starts by patronizing the reader ("most of us imagine container ships ..."), then proceeds to use a "for the children"-type argument ("small bu

The announcement starts by patronizing the reader ("most of us imagine container ships ..."), then proceeds to use a "for the children"-type argument ("small business"), directly followed by "for freedom!" argument with little to no substance. Trade agreements like the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) are beginning to recognize the Internet’s transformative impact on trade. Sure, in the sense that the TPP is designed by and for corporations, like Google, who don't want stuff like, say, the EU, getting in their way when trying to defend the users' rights (e.g. right to be forgotten). The paranoid in me also thinks this is in fact an agreement between organizations like Google and the US government to "legally" syphon foreign data directly from US soil, but there is of course absolutely not enough transparency to substantiate this either way. I clearly don't support TPP in the first place, but I find this announcement from Google borderline insulting, TPP or not. The condescending tone alone makes me cringe, but the whole "we're fighting for freedom" cover story is just disgusting.