5 ms·

What's the outlook of antitrust action in US is like when Google, Fb are well-known sponsors of the Democratic Party?

bassman9000 6y ago
What's the outlook Tumbleweed-y and under-the-carpet-y.
biddit 6y ago
Both FB and Google corporate donate equally to both parties. https://www.opensecrets.org/political-action-committees-pacs/C00428623/summary/2020 https://www.opensecrets.org/political-action-committees-pacs... https://www.opensecrets.org/political-action-committees-pacs/C00502906/summary/2020 https://www.opensecrets.org/political-action-committees-pacs...
ocdtrekkie 6y ago
The Democratic Party has a lot less interest in tolerating big tech than they have in the past. I'm cautiously optimistic Biden won't make the same mistakes Obama did here. But we'll see.
- zonethundery 6y ago
  Same here, but I wonder if Biden's pushback won't be more like mid-90's tech opposition (Piracy! Pornography! "You wouldn't encrypt a car, would you?"). We'll see what kind of hamfisted weirdness shows up in a compromise 230 bill in the next Congress.
  - ocdtrekkie 6y ago
    Section 230 is going to die one way or another. Tech companies want you to believe it's an Internet apocalypse, but realistically, it means when someone sues a tech company, they are going to have to defend themselves on the merits of the case instead of using a "get out of jail free" card. Facebook, Google, and Twitter will need slightly more lawyers, and the rest of the Internet will get along just fine with "doing the best we can". Pornhub will survive 2020. And it's an example of what removing Section 230 protection can do, absolutely, since SESTA/FOSTA exempted child sexual exploitation from 230 protection. Pornhub now only accepting verified uploads from professional studios and performers will not end porn. And in fact, without the ability for anonymous uploaders to post pirated premium porn, adult performers are going to make more money than they ever have before. Piracy has been hurting pornography just as much as it's hurt every other type of content, perhaps even moreso. Yeah, the wild west of the Internet is over. Governments know how it works and how it can impact them. Businesses have massive influence over how it operates and evolves. And the Internet isn't just "out in space", it exists as real equipment in real sovereign countries, and that will continue to apply more to how the Internet works over time. I don't think that's bad for the Internet. With regulation comes protection for people who might be otherwise harmed by others online. And it highlights the need to continue to push for global individual freedom: As we push towards open communication and human rights, the Internet as a whole will reflect that.
- Dirlewanger 6y ago
  I wish I had your optimism. Based on his cabinet choices so far, this is going to be another corrupt organization filled with corporate types whose misdeeds will never get talked about in the mainstream media. Obama II. W Bush III. Same shitpile that pissed people off enough to make them vote Trump.
  - ocdtrekkie 6y ago
    There are definitely upsides and downsides in his choices. Biden was very far from my first choice for President, but I am hopeful he'll have learned from at least a few of Obama's mistakes, and of course, I think the next four years will probably just straight up be quieter than the last four, which should help restore confidence in our economy and the country.
    - sitkack 6y ago
      We don't have time for four-years of hanging out. The election was close, the Sky is Literally Melting and Biden is already setting up for a loss in two years. https://www.salon.com/2019/06/19/joe-biden-to-rich-donors-nothing-would-fundamentally-change-if-hes-elected/ https://www.salon.com/2019/06/19/joe-biden-to-rich-donors-no...
  - sjg007 6y ago
    Who exactly are the appointees you are upset about? Also Trump grifted the whole thing.. I am surprised "drain the swamp" is still an effective slogan and believed.
zonethundery 6y ago
Yeah it's not so much sponsorship (see other reply on donations) as "affinity". GOOG/FB employees lean D, and R's have historical beef (e.g. Google could have stopped the whole "santorum" thing). R's are still upset about that [reliably comes up in my meetings w/ R staffers] and the perceived "suppression" of conservative speech. The cynicism is justified, but the second clause of the sentence should be, "when the consumer harm standard is the driving force behind antitrust enforcement." Unless the new brandeisians/"hipster antitrust" people pull some kind of Jedi mind trick that carries a case all the way to SCOTUS, we are all out of luck. It is difficult to overturn 30 years of case law.

What's the outlook Tumbleweed-y and under-the-carpet-y.

Both FB and Google corporate donate equally to both parties. https://www.opensecrets.org/political-action-committees-pacs/C00428623/summary/2020 https://www.opensecrets.org/political-action-committees-pacs... https://www.opensecrets.org/political-action-committees-pacs/C00502906/summary/2020 https://www.opensecrets.org/political-action-committees-pacs...

ocdtrekkie 6y ago

The Democratic Party has a lot less interest in tolerating big tech than they have in the past. I'm cautiously optimistic Biden won't make the same mistakes Obama did here. But we'll see.

zonethundery 6y ago
Same here, but I wonder if Biden's pushback won't be more like mid-90's tech opposition (Piracy! Pornography! "You wouldn't encrypt a car, would you?"). We'll see what kind of hamfisted weirdness shows up in a compromise 230 bill in the next Congress.
- ocdtrekkie 6y ago
  Section 230 is going to die one way or another. Tech companies want you to believe it's an Internet apocalypse, but realistically, it means when someone sues a tech company, they are going to have to defend themselves on the merits of the case instead of using a "get out of jail free" card. Facebook, Google, and Twitter will need slightly more lawyers, and the rest of the Internet will get along just fine with "doing the best we can". Pornhub will survive 2020. And it's an example of what removing Section 230 protection can do, absolutely, since SESTA/FOSTA exempted child sexual exploitation from 230 protection. Pornhub now only accepting verified uploads from professional studios and performers will not end porn. And in fact, without the ability for anonymous uploaders to post pirated premium porn, adult performers are going to make more money than they ever have before. Piracy has been hurting pornography just as much as it's hurt every other type of content, perhaps even moreso. Yeah, the wild west of the Internet is over. Governments know how it works and how it can impact them. Businesses have massive influence over how it operates and evolves. And the Internet isn't just "out in space", it exists as real equipment in real sovereign countries, and that will continue to apply more to how the Internet works over time. I don't think that's bad for the Internet. With regulation comes protection for people who might be otherwise harmed by others online. And it highlights the need to continue to push for global individual freedom: As we push towards open communication and human rights, the Internet as a whole will reflect that.
Dirlewanger 6y ago
I wish I had your optimism. Based on his cabinet choices so far, this is going to be another corrupt organization filled with corporate types whose misdeeds will never get talked about in the mainstream media. Obama II. W Bush III. Same shitpile that pissed people off enough to make them vote Trump.
- ocdtrekkie 6y ago
  There are definitely upsides and downsides in his choices. Biden was very far from my first choice for President, but I am hopeful he'll have learned from at least a few of Obama's mistakes, and of course, I think the next four years will probably just straight up be quieter than the last four, which should help restore confidence in our economy and the country.
  - sitkack 6y ago
    We don't have time for four-years of hanging out. The election was close, the Sky is Literally Melting and Biden is already setting up for a loss in two years. https://www.salon.com/2019/06/19/joe-biden-to-rich-donors-nothing-would-fundamentally-change-if-hes-elected/ https://www.salon.com/2019/06/19/joe-biden-to-rich-donors-no...
- sjg007 6y ago
  Who exactly are the appointees you are upset about? Also Trump grifted the whole thing.. I am surprised "drain the swamp" is still an effective slogan and believed.

zonethundery 6y ago

Yeah it's not so much sponsorship (see other reply on donations) as "affinity". GOOG/FB employees lean D, and R's have historical beef (e.g. Google could have stopped the whole "santorum" thing). R's are still upset about that [reliably comes up in my meetings w/ R staffers] and the perceived "suppression" of conservative speech. The cynicism is justified, but the second clause of the sentence should be, "when the consumer harm standard is the driving force behind antitrust enforcement." Unless the new brandeisians/"hipster antitrust" people pull some kind of Jedi mind trick that carries a case all the way to SCOTUS, we are all out of luck. It is difficult to overturn 30 years of case law.