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Considering how big of a lie Google's "Don't do evil" motto Genuinely curious here, what are the things that google has done that people think are evil? Maybe

by riggins 13y ago

Considering how big of a lie Google's "Don't do evil" motto Genuinely curious here, what are the things that google has done that people think are evil? Maybe as a follow-up, what corporations do you think make a greater positive impact than google?

feduphacker 13y ago
Have you visited the front page of HN recently?
QuantumGood 13y ago
Google's evil activity cost them half BILLION dollars when a gov't sting uncovered it: http://bit.ly/14osMvb http://bit.ly/14osMvb
- burntsushi 13y ago
  I'm hesitant to call anything evil just for being caught in the cross-hairs of the drug laws in the US.
  - enraged_camel 13y ago
    I'm sorry if this comes across as rude, but... did you read the god damn article? Google actively helped scammers sell fake pharmaceuticals. How is that not the definition of evil?
    - burntsushi 13y ago
      Yes, I read the article. Did you? The sting wasn't to catch Google helping scammers, but to catch Google knowingly helping people sell illicit drugs.
      - enraged_camel 13y ago
        I guess I don't see the distinction you are trying to make. Google representatives helped Whitetaker sell illegal, often fake drugs, often times giving him feedback on how he could circumvent the company's own policies and various detection algorithms. In other words, Google acted in an evil manner.
        burntsushi 13y ago
        > I guess I don't see the distinction you are trying to make. I already told you: "I'm hesitant to call anything evil just for being caught in the cross-hairs of the drug laws in the US." If you think that violating the drugs laws (or helping someone to do so) in the US is evil, then we have a fundamental disagreement. From my reading of the article, the sting wasn't to find out if Google was knowingly helping scams---just that they were knowingly helping someone sell illegal drugs.
        enraged_camel 13y ago
        The problem is not that the drugs were illegal. The problem was that they were fake. That is evil. Furthermore, scamming people is evil as well, since it involves taking advantage of them.
        burntsushi 13y ago
        > The problem is not that the drugs were illegal. Yes, it was. The entire article is about setting up a sting to catch Google helping people sell illicit drugs. > The problem was that they were fake. I'm running out of ways to explain this to you: the sting showed no evidence that Google knew that the drugs were fake---only that they knew that they were trying to sell illegal drugs. There are two competing ideas going on here: 1) Google knowingly facilitated the sale of illegal drugs. 2) Google knowingly facilitated scammers. From what I could tell, the article demonstrated (1) but not (2). I don't think (1) is evil. I do think (2) is evil. So if you disagree with my interpretation of the article, at least you can be satisfied that we agree on something.

by riggins 13y ago

feduphacker 13y ago

Have you visited the front page of HN recently?

QuantumGood 13y ago

Google's evil activity cost them half BILLION dollars when a gov't sting uncovered it: http://bit.ly/14osMvb http://bit.ly/14osMvb

burntsushi 13y ago
I'm hesitant to call anything evil just for being caught in the cross-hairs of the drug laws in the US.
- enraged_camel 13y ago
  I'm sorry if this comes across as rude, but... did you read the god damn article? Google actively helped scammers sell fake pharmaceuticals. How is that not the definition of evil?
  - burntsushi 13y ago
    Yes, I read the article. Did you? The sting wasn't to catch Google helping scammers, but to catch Google knowingly helping people sell illicit drugs.
    - enraged_camel 13y ago
      I guess I don't see the distinction you are trying to make. Google representatives helped Whitetaker sell illegal, often fake drugs, often times giving him feedback on how he could circumvent the company's own policies and various detection algorithms. In other words, Google acted in an evil manner.
      - burntsushi 13y ago
        > I guess I don't see the distinction you are trying to make. I already told you: "I'm hesitant to call anything evil just for being caught in the cross-hairs of the drug laws in the US." If you think that violating the drugs laws (or helping someone to do so) in the US is evil, then we have a fundamental disagreement. From my reading of the article, the sting wasn't to find out if Google was knowingly helping scams---just that they were knowingly helping someone sell illegal drugs.
        enraged_camel 13y ago
        The problem is not that the drugs were illegal. The problem was that they were fake. That is evil. Furthermore, scamming people is evil as well, since it involves taking advantage of them.
        burntsushi 13y ago
        > The problem is not that the drugs were illegal. Yes, it was. The entire article is about setting up a sting to catch Google helping people sell illicit drugs. > The problem was that they were fake. I'm running out of ways to explain this to you: the sting showed no evidence that Google knew that the drugs were fake---only that they knew that they were trying to sell illegal drugs. There are two competing ideas going on here: 1) Google knowingly facilitated the sale of illegal drugs. 2) Google knowingly facilitated scammers. From what I could tell, the article demonstrated (1) but not (2). I don't think (1) is evil. I do think (2) is evil. So if you disagree with my interpretation of the article, at least you can be satisfied that we agree on something.