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This position is about intelligence oversight. What's the link with being harsh on Google and Amazon? What the article makes it sound like is that Thiel is aga

by d--b 9y ago

This position is about intelligence oversight. What's the link with being harsh on Google and Amazon? What the article makes it sound like is that Thiel is against forms of censorship at the level of companies like Google and Amazon, which in a way is fine, right? (Or maybe I misunderstood?). Also it sounds like Thiel would very much want to limit the role of the NSA in matters of domestic privacy, which is kind of what everybody wanted Obama to do. Don't get me wrong, I really dislike libertarianism in that it necessarily leads to very unbalanced societies. And I especially dislike it when it's incoherent (like when libertarians are against immigration/freedom of movement). But in matters of personal privacy, it's kind of good, no? EDIT: ok - whoever downvotes this - please send a comment regarding why you think my comment is inappropriate / not interesting?

croon 9y ago
> EDIT: ok - whoever downvotes this - please send a comment regarding why you think my comment is inappropriate / not interesting? Not me, but: > What the article makes it sound like is that Thiel is against forms of censorship at the level of companies like Google and Amazon, which in a way is fine, right? (Or maybe I misunderstood?). He's on the board of Facebook, and I don't think I'm pessimistic in assuming that will be a executive factor in his actions. I also don't think it's unreasonable to suggest he's only being considered for his support and donations to Trump, not for his qualifications (like most Trump appointees). > Also it sounds like Thiel would very much want to limit the role of the NSA in matters of domestic privacy, which is kind of what everybody wanted Obama to do. I don't believe anyone is hesitant out of dislike of the concept, but clouded judgement of the individual.
confounded 9y ago
> Also it sounds like Thiel would very much want to limit the role of the NSA in matters of domestic privacy, which is kind of what everybody wanted Obama to do. He founded and directly profits from Palantir, a huge private surveillance company that makes its money from government surveillance contracts. He's already got some sweet deals for the company after working for Trump, especially new contracts for ICE. It's possible that he'd like to privatize surveillance work for his own profit, but given that he's spent the last 13 years working on superior mass surveillance systems, it seems unlikely that the views you seem to attribute to him are true. This is all outside of him being on the board of Facebook (which I'd argue is single greatest force against domestic privacy in the US, and an extremely large ingest source for the NSA).

by d--b 9y ago

croon 9y ago

> EDIT: ok - whoever downvotes this - please send a comment regarding why you think my comment is inappropriate / not interesting? Not me, but: > What the article makes it sound like is that Thiel is against forms of censorship at the level of companies like Google and Amazon, which in a way is fine, right? (Or maybe I misunderstood?). He's on the board of Facebook, and I don't think I'm pessimistic in assuming that will be a executive factor in his actions. I also don't think it's unreasonable to suggest he's only being considered for his support and donations to Trump, not for his qualifications (like most Trump appointees). > Also it sounds like Thiel would very much want to limit the role of the NSA in matters of domestic privacy, which is kind of what everybody wanted Obama to do. I don't believe anyone is hesitant out of dislike of the concept, but clouded judgement of the individual.

confounded 9y ago

> Also it sounds like Thiel would very much want to limit the role of the NSA in matters of domestic privacy, which is kind of what everybody wanted Obama to do. He founded and directly profits from Palantir, a huge private surveillance company that makes its money from government surveillance contracts. He's already got some sweet deals for the company after working for Trump, especially new contracts for ICE. It's possible that he'd like to privatize surveillance work for his own profit, but given that he's spent the last 13 years working on superior mass surveillance systems, it seems unlikely that the views you seem to attribute to him are true. This is all outside of him being on the board of Facebook (which I'd argue is single greatest force against domestic privacy in the US, and an extremely large ingest source for the NSA).