3 ms·

Probably because it’s none of our business? Literally and figuratively.

• gaius 9y ago
  none of our business? Literally No, it literally is business. China sells products in the West the value of which derives from there being good mapping data of the West. Banning this same data being collected there is an unfair distortion of the market.
  • dvdhnt 9y ago
    Last time I checked, we don't live there. There's no natural right to do business anywhere, well, at least if you are not a citizen of that state - however, even that's not true here thanks to a combination of licenses, regulations, taxes, etc. Like, so many people on HN worship "the market" like it matters beyond our tiny, irrelevant life spans, it's horrific. If I lease my apartment to another person on Airbnb, I am under no obligation to lease my apartment to them or at all. The fact that we take advantage of their exports does not compel them to do the same. So, like, don't buy Chinese products taking advantage of Western mapping data, but do so quietly since, you know, they don't have to do anything economically that they don't want to do.