5 ms·

I don't really like the headline, it makes it sound negative. Big Tech tends to have negative connotations, nowadays. So, here the FT is trying to say that a d

I don't really like the headline, it makes it sound negative. Big Tech tends to have negative connotations, nowadays. So, here the FT is trying to say that a democratically elected government is living in fear of private firms. While it may be true that our government are now living in fear of not just Big Tech but all types of Big whatever, the fight was way beyond just big tech. Sure Big Tech helped but it still is a badly written and badly thought out think-about-the-children type law that was being fought by everyone not just big tech. I didn't bother to read the article. Headlines are important There are other things to rage about Big Tech, this is not the one.

simonjgreen 3y ago
FT is a conservative-centre aligned news outlet, so stands to reason they'd favour their preferred party
- creativenolo 3y ago
  Do you read it regularly? It is centre aligned but as a reader, I wouldn’t say it was Conservative aligned. It certainly is a mile off its alignment with the “Tory press” that typically set the new agenda.
  - frereubu 3y ago
    I'm a subscriber and I'd say it is small-c conservative (which I'm not really, I just appreciate that it's relatively open about its biases and enjoy the quality of writing), but it isn't aligned with the Conservative Party, which has become almost entirely unmoored from reality.
    - ftreader4350 3y ago
      Usually I would tend to agree that the articles are well written and well researched, however after reading this steaming pile of surface level dross on a subject I have technical knowledge of, I might be less trusting of their editorial slant and quality of journalism in future.
      - ycombinete 3y ago
        This is called Knolls Law of Media Accuracy: “everything you read in the newspapers is absolutely true, except for the rare story of which you happen to have firsthand knowledge” Edit: actually I was thinking of the Gell-Mann Amnesia Effect. They both work though. Both discussed in this thread: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13624175 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13624175
  - simonjgreen 3y ago
    Yes, I am a regular reader. And I didn't say Conservative with a capital C, I said conservative centre. As in, centre with a conservative angle.
    - creativenolo 3y ago
      Ok, that makes sense but wasn’t obvious. The Conservative Party, and parties on the far right parties across the world, have left conservatism behind. Something the the left and centre parties are having to take up.
p-e-w 3y ago
You're making it sound as if the headline was poorly written, perhaps by accident or by a poor writer. I can assure you that isn't the case. Whoever wrote that headline is a copywriting genius. The headline conveys almost the exact opposite of what really happened, without being factually wrong. That doesn't happen by accident.
- shawabawa3 3y ago
  Does it? For me the headline conveyed exactly what happened...
- zo1 3y ago
  Curious what you would say the opposite is?
  - Terretta 3y ago
    > Curious what you would say the opposite is? “UK has not backed down in tech encryption row, minister says” https://www.reuters.com/technology/uk-minister-says-position-encryption-not-changed-2023-09-07/ https://www.reuters.com/technology/uk-minister-says-position...
- esperent 3y ago
  Can you give an example of what you think a better headline would be in this case?
j0ej0ej0e 3y ago
lol the uk gov has more negative connotations than bigtech. Also not quite democratic when the uk electorate last voted for a gov in 2019 but we have had 3 prime ministers since all with vastly different strategies, where the last 2 were chosen by anyone who wants to pay for a membership to the tory party, including fake identities made by journalists who registered from france. If you had some context, bigtech are actually fighting to keep encryption alive and are the goodies in this story. Context is important, so is reading. But thanks for your insight in the article you didn't read.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- jabradoodle 3y ago
  I think you misunderstood OP. Their point is the article headline sounds like democracy loosing out to evil big tech; they, like you, don't see it that way.
  - shawabawa3 3y ago
    To anyone vaguely familiar with the story, or the UK government, the headline doesn't sound like that at all
- mr_toad 3y ago
  In the UK parties are free to choose their leader by any means they like. They have a lot less power than a President - which is part of the reason the previous two were deposed.
dewclin 3y ago
Similar story (no pun intended) in The Guardian [1]: > UK ministers seek to allay WhatsApp and Signal concerns in encryption row Nothing to see here folks, just a minor dispute between the Gov and two companies ... [1] https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/sep/06/whatsapp-signal-online-safety-bill-uk-encryption-privacy https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/sep/06/whatsapp-signa...

simonjgreen 3y ago

FT is a conservative-centre aligned news outlet, so stands to reason they'd favour their preferred party

creativenolo 3y ago
Do you read it regularly? It is centre aligned but as a reader, I wouldn’t say it was Conservative aligned. It certainly is a mile off its alignment with the “Tory press” that typically set the new agenda.
- frereubu 3y ago
  I'm a subscriber and I'd say it is small-c conservative (which I'm not really, I just appreciate that it's relatively open about its biases and enjoy the quality of writing), but it isn't aligned with the Conservative Party, which has become almost entirely unmoored from reality.
  - ftreader4350 3y ago
    Usually I would tend to agree that the articles are well written and well researched, however after reading this steaming pile of surface level dross on a subject I have technical knowledge of, I might be less trusting of their editorial slant and quality of journalism in future.
    - ycombinete 3y ago
      This is called Knolls Law of Media Accuracy: “everything you read in the newspapers is absolutely true, except for the rare story of which you happen to have firsthand knowledge” Edit: actually I was thinking of the Gell-Mann Amnesia Effect. They both work though. Both discussed in this thread: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13624175 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13624175
- simonjgreen 3y ago
  Yes, I am a regular reader. And I didn't say Conservative with a capital C, I said conservative centre. As in, centre with a conservative angle.
  - creativenolo 3y ago
    Ok, that makes sense but wasn’t obvious. The Conservative Party, and parties on the far right parties across the world, have left conservatism behind. Something the the left and centre parties are having to take up.

p-e-w 3y ago

You're making it sound as if the headline was poorly written, perhaps by accident or by a poor writer. I can assure you that isn't the case. Whoever wrote that headline is a copywriting genius. The headline conveys almost the exact opposite of what really happened, without being factually wrong. That doesn't happen by accident.

shawabawa3 3y ago
Does it? For me the headline conveyed exactly what happened...
zo1 3y ago
Curious what you would say the opposite is?
- Terretta 3y ago
  > Curious what you would say the opposite is? “UK has not backed down in tech encryption row, minister says” https://www.reuters.com/technology/uk-minister-says-position-encryption-not-changed-2023-09-07/ https://www.reuters.com/technology/uk-minister-says-position...
esperent 3y ago
Can you give an example of what you think a better headline would be in this case?

j0ej0ej0e 3y ago

lol the uk gov has more negative connotations than bigtech. Also not quite democratic when the uk electorate last voted for a gov in 2019 but we have had 3 prime ministers since all with vastly different strategies, where the last 2 were chosen by anyone who wants to pay for a membership to the tory party, including fake identities made by journalists who registered from france. If you had some context, bigtech are actually fighting to keep encryption alive and are the goodies in this story. Context is important, so is reading. But thanks for your insight in the article you didn't read.

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
jabradoodle 3y ago
I think you misunderstood OP. Their point is the article headline sounds like democracy loosing out to evil big tech; they, like you, don't see it that way.
- shawabawa3 3y ago
  To anyone vaguely familiar with the story, or the UK government, the headline doesn't sound like that at all
mr_toad 3y ago
In the UK parties are free to choose their leader by any means they like. They have a lot less power than a President - which is part of the reason the previous two were deposed.

dewclin 3y ago

Similar story (no pun intended) in The Guardian [1]: > UK ministers seek to allay WhatsApp and Signal concerns in encryption row Nothing to see here folks, just a minor dispute between the Gov and two companies ... [1] https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/sep/06/whatsapp-signal-online-safety-bill-uk-encryption-privacy https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/sep/06/whatsapp-signa...