7 ms·

I'd be more interested in why Obama didn't re-form this office since it was so great, given the google/facebook anti-trust issues metastasized under his adminis

I'd be more interested in why Obama didn't re-form this office since it was so great, given the google/facebook anti-trust issues metastasized under his administration.

ocdtrekkie 7y ago
Barack Obama was so closely associated with Google, it isn't even remotely funny. The amount of interaction between Google and his administration is unprecedented; he could've been considered an employee. Suffice to say, he wasn't going to introduce a way to give the government objective understanding of issues around Google's monopoly.
- creaghpatr 7y ago
  True, he hired his CTO straight out of Google. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megan_Smith https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megan_Smith
  - Operyl 7y ago
    At first I thought you had a typo, but I'll be damned, I didn't even realize that was a position in the Executive branch.. I have now found my afternoon research project for the day.
- dekhn 7y ago
  I really had to chuckle when a coworker of mine called him "Barry" and then it turned out she had worked for him and that's what he asked his closest workers and friends to call him. Then I had to chuckle when several of my coworkers took leaves (fully supported by the leadership) to help out running the Obama infrastructure under Eric Schmidt. At times they got to fly between Chicago and SF on Eric's personal plane. Eventually several of those people ended up working for him (it's always weird when your ex-manager ends up leading a government department).
  - booboolayla 7y ago
    Let's not even mention Eric's trips to North Korea to set up gmail servers the gang used to communicate, out of reach of NSA and CIA.
- toxican 7y ago
  My kneejerk reaction is that the Google of 2008, even 2012, isn't the same Google of 2019. Maybe that's political bias talking. All the same, not crazy about politicians and corporations being so cozy, regardless of affiliation.
yummypaint 7y ago
And here is the response we all expected
dx87 7y ago
His administration benefited a ton from Facebook. You can look up his old campaign manager's tweets about Facebook telling them that they were on their side, and that if anyone else had scraped as much info as they did, they would have been blocked.
- lonelappde 7y ago
  Citation needed. One person's claim is not that whole story. https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2018/mar/22/meghan-mccain/comparing-facebook-data-use-obama-cambridge-analyt/ https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2018/mar...
  - derivagral 7y ago
    Among other google-able sources, https://twitter.com/cld276/status/975568208886484997 https://twitter.com/cld276/status/975568208886484997
  - cameronbrown 7y ago
    Obama did basically what Cambridge Analytica did. To this date I don't understand why the media reacted so differently to both situations. Edit: See link in response for an explanation. IMO I'm still uncomfortable with how they got data of friends, but that's about it. However, this does not refute the above point that Obama didn't heavily benefit from Facebook. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/feb/17/obama-digital-data-machine-facebook-election https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/feb/17/obama-digital-...
    - lonelappde 7y ago
      Because they were different. https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2018/mar/22/meghan-mccain/comparing-facebook-data-use-obama-cambridge-analyt/ https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2018/mar...
    - matchbok 7y ago
      Simply not true, at all.
atonse 7y ago
If you're thinking I'm going to disagree on that note, you're wrong. But the Obama administration also created the US Digital Service and 18F (after the healthcare.gov debacle), which are doing stellar work and continue to do so in the federal gov under the Trump Administration. Obama also did create the Office of Science and Technology Policy, so maybe this was the successor of what this office would've been. But they were more science focused. But that doesn't address my question about this particular office.
- dekhn 7y ago
  Congress created OSTP in 1976 after Nixon disbanded the National Science Committee.
ptah 7y ago
sounds like it is a congress thing
Symmetry 7y ago
The executive branch already has technological experts to lean on. Obama was never particularly interested in giving up leverage the executive branch had over Congress, especially when his party wasn't in control there for most of his presidency.

I'd be more interested in why Obama didn't re-form this office since it was so great, given the google/facebook anti-trust issues metastasized under his administration.

ocdtrekkie 7y ago

Barack Obama was so closely associated with Google, it isn't even remotely funny. The amount of interaction between Google and his administration is unprecedented; he could've been considered an employee. Suffice to say, he wasn't going to introduce a way to give the government objective understanding of issues around Google's monopoly.

creaghpatr 7y ago
True, he hired his CTO straight out of Google. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megan_Smith https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megan_Smith
- Operyl 7y ago
  At first I thought you had a typo, but I'll be damned, I didn't even realize that was a position in the Executive branch.. I have now found my afternoon research project for the day.
dekhn 7y ago
I really had to chuckle when a coworker of mine called him "Barry" and then it turned out she had worked for him and that's what he asked his closest workers and friends to call him. Then I had to chuckle when several of my coworkers took leaves (fully supported by the leadership) to help out running the Obama infrastructure under Eric Schmidt. At times they got to fly between Chicago and SF on Eric's personal plane. Eventually several of those people ended up working for him (it's always weird when your ex-manager ends up leading a government department).
- booboolayla 7y ago
  Let's not even mention Eric's trips to North Korea to set up gmail servers the gang used to communicate, out of reach of NSA and CIA.
toxican 7y ago
My kneejerk reaction is that the Google of 2008, even 2012, isn't the same Google of 2019. Maybe that's political bias talking. All the same, not crazy about politicians and corporations being so cozy, regardless of affiliation.

yummypaint 7y ago

And here is the response we all expected

dx87 7y ago

His administration benefited a ton from Facebook. You can look up his old campaign manager's tweets about Facebook telling them that they were on their side, and that if anyone else had scraped as much info as they did, they would have been blocked.

lonelappde 7y ago
Citation needed. One person's claim is not that whole story. https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2018/mar/22/meghan-mccain/comparing-facebook-data-use-obama-cambridge-analyt/ https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2018/mar...
- derivagral 7y ago
  Among other google-able sources, https://twitter.com/cld276/status/975568208886484997 https://twitter.com/cld276/status/975568208886484997
- cameronbrown 7y ago
  Obama did basically what Cambridge Analytica did. To this date I don't understand why the media reacted so differently to both situations. Edit: See link in response for an explanation. IMO I'm still uncomfortable with how they got data of friends, but that's about it. However, this does not refute the above point that Obama didn't heavily benefit from Facebook. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/feb/17/obama-digital-data-machine-facebook-election https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/feb/17/obama-digital-...
  - lonelappde 7y ago
    Because they were different. https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2018/mar/22/meghan-mccain/comparing-facebook-data-use-obama-cambridge-analyt/ https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2018/mar...
  - matchbok 7y ago
    Simply not true, at all.

atonse 7y ago

If you're thinking I'm going to disagree on that note, you're wrong. But the Obama administration also created the US Digital Service and 18F (after the healthcare.gov debacle), which are doing stellar work and continue to do so in the federal gov under the Trump Administration. Obama also did create the Office of Science and Technology Policy, so maybe this was the successor of what this office would've been. But they were more science focused. But that doesn't address my question about this particular office.

dekhn 7y ago
Congress created OSTP in 1976 after Nixon disbanded the National Science Committee.

ptah 7y ago

sounds like it is a congress thing

Symmetry 7y ago

The executive branch already has technological experts to lean on. Obama was never particularly interested in giving up leverage the executive branch had over Congress, especially when his party wasn't in control there for most of his presidency.