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Amazing that the EU is able to levy multi-billion dollar fines basically for attempting to monetize a free operating system, whereas in the US and Britain, felo

by c3534l 8y ago

Amazing that the EU is able to levy multi-billion dollar fines basically for attempting to monetize a free operating system, whereas in the US and Britain, felony conspiracies, price-fixing, and fraud get milquetoast slaps on the wrist.

ForRealsies 8y ago
Wouldn't have anything to do with the EU desperately wanting a Silicon Valley of their own, would it?
dunpeal 8y ago
Don't forget the tech cartel that suppressed wages by non-poaching agreements. Several of the most prominent tech employers in the US illegally colluded for years to deprive employees of billions of dollars of wages. It was an open and shut case, with chief executives going on record about this illegal collusion. Result? Department of Labor investigates, finds them guilty... and they get a slap on the wrist for the tune of a few million dollars. To repeat, this collusion is a crime by US law. It's a violation of Section One of the Sherman Act. In the US, the legal balance of power has been tipped for decades in favor of employers: non-competes, mandatory arbitration agreements (which practically mean you can't sue your employer no matter how badly they mistreat you), etc. Both the laws themselves and their enforcement have steadily moved to favor and empower employers, while employees are deprived of any benefit of the legal system or their most basic rights (such as to change jobs). Most of us live in a bubble because we are engineers and work in California, which is relatively labor-friendly. Just wait until you get into a serious disagreement with your employer, or seek employment outside of California, say in New York or Seattle, where both non-competes and forced arbitration are perfectly enforceable.
- blub 8y ago
  Yeah, but the the most shocking thing is the countless apologists for Microsoft, Apple, Google, Intel, etc. These companies were/are breaking the law and hurting societies and people through their greedy behaviour, and some criticize the EU for rightly punishing them. This kind of brainwashed behaviour is very very concerning. The corporations have succeeded in changing the environment in which people grow up and thereby manipulated them to protect the corporation like a discardable, yet useful drone.
blub 8y ago
I know a great way to monetize an operating system: charging money for licenses. But this has some problems... buyers will make more demands instead of just taking things as they are because, "hey, it's free"! They might also decide it's too expensive and look for other providers, say like Jolla, Ubuntu or FirefoxOS. Charging money is pretty awesome for creating a vibrant mobile OS market, but it sucks for creating a mobile OS monopoly as a vehicle for ads.
tooltalk 8y ago
?? Apple paid $400+M for the e-book price-fixing scandal not too long ago. I do agree though that the US regulators and the court system are a tad bit lenient on domestic companies. It's even worse when it comes to patent cases involving foreign vs domestic companies.

by c3534l 8y ago

ForRealsies 8y ago

Wouldn't have anything to do with the EU desperately wanting a Silicon Valley of their own, would it?

dunpeal 8y ago

Don't forget the tech cartel that suppressed wages by non-poaching agreements. Several of the most prominent tech employers in the US illegally colluded for years to deprive employees of billions of dollars of wages. It was an open and shut case, with chief executives going on record about this illegal collusion. Result? Department of Labor investigates, finds them guilty... and they get a slap on the wrist for the tune of a few million dollars. To repeat, this collusion is a crime by US law. It's a violation of Section One of the Sherman Act. In the US, the legal balance of power has been tipped for decades in favor of employers: non-competes, mandatory arbitration agreements (which practically mean you can't sue your employer no matter how badly they mistreat you), etc. Both the laws themselves and their enforcement have steadily moved to favor and empower employers, while employees are deprived of any benefit of the legal system or their most basic rights (such as to change jobs). Most of us live in a bubble because we are engineers and work in California, which is relatively labor-friendly. Just wait until you get into a serious disagreement with your employer, or seek employment outside of California, say in New York or Seattle, where both non-competes and forced arbitration are perfectly enforceable.

blub 8y ago
Yeah, but the the most shocking thing is the countless apologists for Microsoft, Apple, Google, Intel, etc. These companies were/are breaking the law and hurting societies and people through their greedy behaviour, and some criticize the EU for rightly punishing them. This kind of brainwashed behaviour is very very concerning. The corporations have succeeded in changing the environment in which people grow up and thereby manipulated them to protect the corporation like a discardable, yet useful drone.

blub 8y ago

I know a great way to monetize an operating system: charging money for licenses. But this has some problems... buyers will make more demands instead of just taking things as they are because, "hey, it's free"! They might also decide it's too expensive and look for other providers, say like Jolla, Ubuntu or FirefoxOS. Charging money is pretty awesome for creating a vibrant mobile OS market, but it sucks for creating a mobile OS monopoly as a vehicle for ads.

tooltalk 8y ago

?? Apple paid $400+M for the e-book price-fixing scandal not too long ago. I do agree though that the US regulators and the court system are a tad bit lenient on domestic companies. It's even worse when it comes to patent cases involving foreign vs domestic companies.