8 ms·

I think there are legitimate things worth investigating Google for. And other big tech companies too. But right now? Just before an election? Hand it off to ca

by davidw 6y ago

I think there are legitimate things worth investigating Google for. And other big tech companies too. But right now? Just before an election? Hand it off to career DoJ people and let them bring it some time next year.

makerofspoons 6y ago
That would make sense if the goal was to actually win the case. The actual goal is optics and to feed the victim complex of one side of the "culture war" ahead of the election.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
chrisco255 6y ago
The AG could be replaced by a new administration and the case could get tabled.
- wbl 6y ago
  Adminstrations changing priorities is legitimate. Just ask Bill Bar when he's trying to do favors for the president.
  - chrisco255 6y ago
    Sure, especially when the corporations being scrutinized donate to their election campaign.
- davidw 6y ago
  You'd kind of hope that it's apolitical and solid enough that that wouldn't happen? Launching it right now makes it more political.
  - Njikl 6y ago
    The issue I see there is the Democratic establishment is pro-corporate before anything else. So yeah, if Biden is elected, this will never have seen the light of day.
    - dlp211 6y ago
      The Democratic establishment is more pro-corporate than the Republican establishment? In what reality is this. Like I don't get where this idea comes from that you have to be pro-business or anti-business. I can be both pro-worker and pro-business, it's not black and white, it's shades of gray.
      - nostromo 6y ago
        > The Democratic establishment is more pro-corporate than the Republican establishment? It depends on the company in question. And, yes, Republicans right now are much more likely to be skeptical of Silicon Valley giants than are Democrats, who have been very cozy with Democrats since 2008.
        dlp211 6y ago
        > And, yes, Republicans right now are much more likely to be skeptical of Silicon Valley giants than are Democrats That wasn't the claim raised or addressed.
        nostromo 6y ago
        The biggest and most powerful corporations in the world right now are tech companies, of which Republicans are increasingly skeptical and with which Democrats are increasingly cozy. So of course it's relevant to a question about how Democrats could be seen as pro-corporate.
        root_axis 6y ago
        > The biggest and most powerful corporations in the world right now are tech companies, Not even close to true. JP Morgan, ExxonMobil, Citi, Chevron, ATT, Comcast,, Walmart, GE, GM, Berkshire Hatahway, Pfizer, Johnson & Jhonson... I could go on. Yes, Apple, MS, FB, Google are huge tech companies, but they are not the most common and not by any means "the most powerful".
- bleepblorp 6y ago
  If anything, an anti-trust prosecution is more likely to go ahead in the unlikely event Biden takes office. The Democratic party has a much greater willingness to engage in regulatory actions against large businesses than does the GOP. The GOP pushing a rushed (and therefore, weak) case now smells of a designed-to-fail effort that will only strengthen Google's position by poisoning the well against effective anti-trust efforts in the future. It may also be partisan. Facebook has received considerably less attention from Washington as it has become more cooperative with Republican demands that conservative-oriented fabricated news remain on the platform[0]. Google has made no such commitments and might be in the GOP's sights as a result. While the DOJ is playing to lose, defending the case will cost Google money and this could be a lever to encourage them to follow Facebook's lead and give preferential treatment to conservative fake news. [0] https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/21/business/media/facebook-donald-trump-mark-zuckerberg.html https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/21/business/media/facebook-d...
  - chrisco255 6y ago
    There is no evidence that Biden would go after big tech at all. It's not part of his platform. They are benefitting bigly from donations and favorable coverage from FAANG. Biden himself is prone to sell out to foreign companies as evidenced by his son's dealings in China, Ukraine, and Russia. You can't expect someone that corrupt to go after monopoly corruption.
    - acdha 6y ago
      You’re making two common mistakes, hopefully unwittingly: don’t confuse the modest leanings of FAANG workers with their bosses’ - the major tech companies PACs and executives heavily donate to whoever they think will be able to lighten regulation or give them favorable tax breaks. Peter Thiel and Palmer Luckey are not freak unicorns but represent a sizable fraction of people and money. Secondly, try to find evidence supporting the wild claims going around about either Biden. You’ll note that these claims tend to be very long on supposition but short on evidence and the people promoting them hace significant conflicts of interest. Just as when most of the same people said Clinton was more corrupt than Trump, they’re banking on you reading the headline but not critically examining the story.
- stjohnswarts 6y ago
  I doubt it. The democrats want this too. However, Biden would have much more likely listened to his advisors rather than this case where no doubt Trump is throwing stuff at the wall hoping it sticks and helps him with the election. Most people are probably in favor of holding Google's feet to the fire.
logicalmonster 6y ago
The comment about “just before an election” is kind of interesting to me. If the law doesn’t dictate that the powers of the government aren’t valid at this time, then shouldn’t they still be doing their job?
- ciarannolan 6y ago
  Yes, they should do their jobs by not rushing the case to court to get a cheap political win.
- davidw 6y ago
  Would waiting a few months cause large problems in their ability to do that job? Would it significantly decrease the risk of this being seen as some kind of politicized decision?
Florin_Andrei 6y ago
> Just before an election? It's very obvious that's the whole point.
- dehrmann 6y ago
  It's a rare moment of bipartisanship.

by davidw 6y ago

makerofspoons 6y ago

That would make sense if the goal was to actually win the case. The actual goal is optics and to feed the victim complex of one side of the "culture war" ahead of the election.

deleted 6y ago
[deleted]

chrisco255 6y ago

The AG could be replaced by a new administration and the case could get tabled.

wbl 6y ago
Adminstrations changing priorities is legitimate. Just ask Bill Bar when he's trying to do favors for the president.
- chrisco255 6y ago
  Sure, especially when the corporations being scrutinized donate to their election campaign.
davidw 6y ago
You'd kind of hope that it's apolitical and solid enough that that wouldn't happen? Launching it right now makes it more political.
- Njikl 6y ago
  The issue I see there is the Democratic establishment is pro-corporate before anything else. So yeah, if Biden is elected, this will never have seen the light of day.
  - dlp211 6y ago
    The Democratic establishment is more pro-corporate than the Republican establishment? In what reality is this. Like I don't get where this idea comes from that you have to be pro-business or anti-business. I can be both pro-worker and pro-business, it's not black and white, it's shades of gray.
    - nostromo 6y ago
      > The Democratic establishment is more pro-corporate than the Republican establishment? It depends on the company in question. And, yes, Republicans right now are much more likely to be skeptical of Silicon Valley giants than are Democrats, who have been very cozy with Democrats since 2008.
      - dlp211 6y ago
        > And, yes, Republicans right now are much more likely to be skeptical of Silicon Valley giants than are Democrats That wasn't the claim raised or addressed.
        nostromo 6y ago
        The biggest and most powerful corporations in the world right now are tech companies, of which Republicans are increasingly skeptical and with which Democrats are increasingly cozy. So of course it's relevant to a question about how Democrats could be seen as pro-corporate.
        root_axis 6y ago
        > The biggest and most powerful corporations in the world right now are tech companies, Not even close to true. JP Morgan, ExxonMobil, Citi, Chevron, ATT, Comcast,, Walmart, GE, GM, Berkshire Hatahway, Pfizer, Johnson & Jhonson... I could go on. Yes, Apple, MS, FB, Google are huge tech companies, but they are not the most common and not by any means "the most powerful".
bleepblorp 6y ago
If anything, an anti-trust prosecution is more likely to go ahead in the unlikely event Biden takes office. The Democratic party has a much greater willingness to engage in regulatory actions against large businesses than does the GOP. The GOP pushing a rushed (and therefore, weak) case now smells of a designed-to-fail effort that will only strengthen Google's position by poisoning the well against effective anti-trust efforts in the future. It may also be partisan. Facebook has received considerably less attention from Washington as it has become more cooperative with Republican demands that conservative-oriented fabricated news remain on the platform[0]. Google has made no such commitments and might be in the GOP's sights as a result. While the DOJ is playing to lose, defending the case will cost Google money and this could be a lever to encourage them to follow Facebook's lead and give preferential treatment to conservative fake news. [0] https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/21/business/media/facebook-donald-trump-mark-zuckerberg.html https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/21/business/media/facebook-d...
- chrisco255 6y ago
  There is no evidence that Biden would go after big tech at all. It's not part of his platform. They are benefitting bigly from donations and favorable coverage from FAANG. Biden himself is prone to sell out to foreign companies as evidenced by his son's dealings in China, Ukraine, and Russia. You can't expect someone that corrupt to go after monopoly corruption.
  - acdha 6y ago
    You’re making two common mistakes, hopefully unwittingly: don’t confuse the modest leanings of FAANG workers with their bosses’ - the major tech companies PACs and executives heavily donate to whoever they think will be able to lighten regulation or give them favorable tax breaks. Peter Thiel and Palmer Luckey are not freak unicorns but represent a sizable fraction of people and money. Secondly, try to find evidence supporting the wild claims going around about either Biden. You’ll note that these claims tend to be very long on supposition but short on evidence and the people promoting them hace significant conflicts of interest. Just as when most of the same people said Clinton was more corrupt than Trump, they’re banking on you reading the headline but not critically examining the story.
stjohnswarts 6y ago
I doubt it. The democrats want this too. However, Biden would have much more likely listened to his advisors rather than this case where no doubt Trump is throwing stuff at the wall hoping it sticks and helps him with the election. Most people are probably in favor of holding Google's feet to the fire.

logicalmonster 6y ago

The comment about “just before an election” is kind of interesting to me. If the law doesn’t dictate that the powers of the government aren’t valid at this time, then shouldn’t they still be doing their job?

ciarannolan 6y ago
Yes, they should do their jobs by not rushing the case to court to get a cheap political win.
davidw 6y ago
Would waiting a few months cause large problems in their ability to do that job? Would it significantly decrease the risk of this being seen as some kind of politicized decision?

Florin_Andrei 6y ago

> Just before an election? It's very obvious that's the whole point.

dehrmann 6y ago
It's a rare moment of bipartisanship.