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Kinda grim, if the implied best case in the current US situation is to hope that corporations like Apple and Google and AWS will finally step up to completely i

Kinda grim, if the implied best case in the current US situation is to hope that corporations like Apple and Google and AWS will finally step up to completely ignore the law. I mean... all the other PR those companies doesn't exactly imply they'll be the best shepherds of the people's best interest...

AlexandrB 4y ago
At the risk of Godwin-ing myself, history is a relevant teacher here. Many companies were more than happy to provide services to Nazi Germany in the lead up to WWII. Most notably, IBM and their punch card machines[1]. Or, more recently, consider how many American companies have conceded to giving Chinese authorities special access to their Chinese users[2]. Corporate morality rarely extends beyond its value as PR. Once the financial cost of doing the right thing exceeds the PR value, it's probable that the financial considerations will prevail. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_and_World_War_II#Critics_of_IBM's_actions_during_World_War_II https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_and_World_War_II#Critics_o... [2] https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-apple-icloud-insight-idUSKCN1G8060 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-apple-icloud-insigh...
- Dracophoenix 4y ago
  > Corporate morality rarely extends beyond its value as PR. Once the financial cost of doing the right thing exceeds the PR value, it's probable that the financial considerations will prevail. Make that the morality of most individuals. Few people in the world are bleeding hearts. Most will pay lip service to a cause and then go back to work on Monday to pay taxes to the very government they condemned as oppressive. If every Tom, Dick, and Harry are each fickle enough to preserve themselves when their livelihoods and investments become threatened, why expect a group of them under the banner of ABC, inc. to be any more self-sacrificial?
- xsmasher 4y ago
  > Corporate morality rarely extends beyond its value as PR. Once the financial cost of doing the right thing exceeds the PR value, it's probable that the financial considerations will prevail. Money interprets ethics as damage and routes around it.

AlexandrB 4y ago

At the risk of Godwin-ing myself, history is a relevant teacher here. Many companies were more than happy to provide services to Nazi Germany in the lead up to WWII. Most notably, IBM and their punch card machines[1]. Or, more recently, consider how many American companies have conceded to giving Chinese authorities special access to their Chinese users[2]. Corporate morality rarely extends beyond its value as PR. Once the financial cost of doing the right thing exceeds the PR value, it's probable that the financial considerations will prevail. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_and_World_War_II#Critics_of_IBM's_actions_during_World_War_II https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_and_World_War_II#Critics_o... [2] https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-apple-icloud-insight-idUSKCN1G8060 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-apple-icloud-insigh...

Dracophoenix 4y ago
> Corporate morality rarely extends beyond its value as PR. Once the financial cost of doing the right thing exceeds the PR value, it's probable that the financial considerations will prevail. Make that the morality of most individuals. Few people in the world are bleeding hearts. Most will pay lip service to a cause and then go back to work on Monday to pay taxes to the very government they condemned as oppressive. If every Tom, Dick, and Harry are each fickle enough to preserve themselves when their livelihoods and investments become threatened, why expect a group of them under the banner of ABC, inc. to be any more self-sacrificial?
xsmasher 4y ago
> Corporate morality rarely extends beyond its value as PR. Once the financial cost of doing the right thing exceeds the PR value, it's probable that the financial considerations will prevail. Money interprets ethics as damage and routes around it.