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In yesteryears, utilities were the domain of the government. However, big internet companies are the utilities of today. Increased reliance on their services ma

In yesteryears, utilities were the domain of the government. However, big internet companies are the utilities of today. Increased reliance on their services makes them as powerful, or sometimes even more, than the government. In this new world, companies need to recognize the importance of free speech when it's within their right to control the same. I laud shopify for acknowledging their power and place in the e-commerce world, and for doing the right thing. If corporations are the new government, then they should live by Othello's saying - "I Disapprove of What You Say, But I Will Defend to the Death Your Right to Say It"

throwawayjava 9y ago
> big internet companies are the utilities of today IMO this is a dangerous conflation. Many large internet companies are monopolies. Anti-trust mechanisms should be used to force competitive market places. But there are substantive differences between being the far-and-away best option in a competitive market place, and the sorts of things we typically call utilities. This comment on a story about Shopify is even more disturbing. Amazon or Facebook or Google... okay. But Shopify?! Nothing about Shopify is utility-like. Shopify isn't even a monopoly, let alone a natural one.