We Can No Longer Expect Google and Apple to Fight for Internet Freedom

[Rogue Valley]

We Can No Longer Expect Google and Apple to Fight for Internet Freedom - The Moscow Times

Opinion | Since the backlash over Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election, global tech giants have become replaceable parts of national infrastructure.

www.themoscowtimes.com

9/20/21
The news of Google and Apple finally succumbing to Kremlin pressure and taking down Alexei Navalny’s voting app caused confusion and understandable anger among Russian liberals. But it was hardly surprising. For decades, the Internet giants existed believing public trust was an integral part of their business model. That all ended in 2016. The backlash that followed the Russian interference in the presidential election in the United States, primarily targeting Facebook, was massive, unprecedented and never actually stopped. The non-stop Congress hearings, scandals, whistleblowers coming out with the most damaging accusations about manipulation of users’ data, promoting hatred and divide, even helping hostile states and malicious populists with horrible agenda, all of that would have killed the company if Facebook’s business model still involved public trust. Zuckerberg’s creation would have been dead by now after hemorrhaging its users. But that never happened. Facebook’s monthly users have been on the rise since 2016 — reaching 1.86 billion in the fourth quarter of 2016, and 2.89 billion in the second quarter of 2021. That taught tech giants and governments an important lesson.

Ever since 2016 we’ve seen governments increasing pressure for more regulation of the global Internet giants. This has been happening everywhere — in the U.S., but also in Europe, and of course in countries with authoritarian regimes like Russia. The days of protesters in Moscow waving Facebook flags in front of the Presidential Administration building on Staraya Ploshchad are long gone. What is also gone is the idea that in countries with repressive regimes tech giants can be a force for good when it comes to Internet freedom. The tragedy of Google and Apple and Twitter is that this dramatic change in public and government perception happened so quickly that the companies are still run by the people who launched them. We expect them to keep fighting for privacy, integrity, and the Internet freedoms which made their business possible in the first place.

Google and its YouTube subsidiary, Apple, and Telegram all succumbed to Kremlin pressure and removed the availability of Alexei Navalny's Smart Voting app from the Russian people.

This app gave Russians viable alternative election candidates to Putin's United Russia rubberstamp candidates.

Why is Apple and Google closing down the Russian Navalny voting app not a massive story?

The story is chilling. Russia is holding a three day election for the Dumas. The Navalny opposition created a brilliant app to help Russian voters in not only voting against the Putin government but having a better chance of voting for people who will...

www.dailykos.com

 

[Mr Person]

I'd only expect them to fight for that if either shareholders were willing to take a profit hit to advance such goals, or the boards/execs worked out a way to profit from fighting for internet freedom.

 

[mrjurrs]

We Can No Longer Expect Google and Apple to Fight for Internet Freedom - The Moscow Times

Opinion | Since the backlash over Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election, global tech giants have become replaceable parts of national infrastructure.

www.themoscowtimes.com

Google and its YouTube subsidiary, Apple, and Telegram all succumbed to Kremlin pressure and removed the availability of Alexei Navalny's Smart Voting app from the Russian people.

This app gave Russians viable alternative election candidates to Putin's United Russia rubberstamp candidates.

Why is Apple and Google closing down the Russian Navalny voting app not a massive story?

The story is chilling. Russia is holding a three day election for the Dumas. The Navalny opposition created a brilliant app to help Russian voters in not only voting against the Putin government but having a better chance of voting for people who will...

www.dailykos.com

Time to tax the shite out of these companies. They are not American companies, they are global entities desirous only of making money. Working to keep Putin in power tells the story.

 

[eohrnberger]

"We Can No Longer Expect Google and Apple to Fight for Internet Freedom"
What makes the author think that Google and Apple ever did fight for Internet freedom? I think they wanted control all along.

 

[Juin]

I'd only expect them to fight for that if either shareholders were willing to take a profit hit to advance such goals, or the boards/execs worked out a way to profit from fighting for internet freedom.

That is the bottom line. Google, Apple are business propositions, whose goals are profit. They exist to make profit. And unless, as you point out, profit can be made from fighting for internet freedom, it is idle thinking to expect these tech giants to back what are loss propositions

 

[Rogue Valley]

I'd only expect them to fight for that if either shareholders were willing to take a profit hit to advance such goals, or the boards/execs worked out a way to profit from fighting for internet freedom.

Perhaps they shouldn't do business in dictatorships where they are beholden to the regime?

 

[Mr Person]

I'd only expect them to fight for that if either shareholders were willing to take a profit hit to advance such goals, or the boards/execs worked out a way to profit from fighting for internet freedom.

Perhaps they shouldn't do business in dictatorships where they are beholden to the regime?

Perhaps they shouldn't? Shouldn't because why?

I'm not saying I like that they cater to such people, but they are a business. Two groups of people get to say what the business should and should not do:

- Shareholders
- Governments

It's certainly fine to say one doesn't like what Apple and Google are doing. But in terms of actually stopping them from doing it, that's the way it is. Now, perhaps mass criticism will convince enough shareholders to apply the necessary pressure, but the vast majority put their own bottom dollar before social causes. Which is why I never expected them to fight for internet freedom. They'll only do that if there's a financial or legal incentive.

 

[Fishking]

We Can No Longer Expect Google and Apple to Fight for Internet Freedom - The Moscow Times

Opinion | Since the backlash over Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election, global tech giants have become replaceable parts of national infrastructure.

www.themoscowtimes.com

Google and its YouTube subsidiary, Apple, and Telegram all succumbed to Kremlin pressure and removed the availability of Alexei Navalny's Smart Voting app from the Russian people.

This app gave Russians viable alternative election candidates to Putin's United Russia rubberstamp candidates.

Why is Apple and Google closing down the Russian Navalny voting app not a massive story?

The story is chilling. Russia is holding a three day election for the Dumas. The Navalny opposition created a brilliant app to help Russian voters in not only voting against the Putin government but having a better chance of voting for people who will...

www.dailykos.com

Why would Russia be treated differently than what these companies do for China, Iran, or any number of other countries?

 

[Rogue Valley]

Perhaps they shouldn't? Shouldn't because why?

Why? Because it's a given that they will have to assist in preserving a dictatorship.

Don't they make enough multi-billions already in the West?

Is profit always the end all?

 

[Rogue Valley]

Why would Russia be treated differently than what these companies do for China, Iran, or any number of other countries?

This isn't the Asia or the ME forum.

 

[Fishking]

How many countries suck off China and follow their censorship and innumerable authoritarian regulations?

 

[Fishking]

This isn't the Asia or the ME forum.

No ****ing shit? Can't answer the question, eh?

 

[Rogue Valley]

How many countries suck off China and follow their censorship and innumerable authoritarian regulations?

See Post #10

 

[Mr Person]

Why? Because it's a given that they will have to assist in preserving a dictatorship.

Don't they make enough multi-billions already in the West?

Is profit always the end all?

You edited the entire substance out of the post, which was:

​

I'm not saying I like that they cater to such people, but they are a business. Two groups of people get to say what the business should and should not do:​

​

- Shareholders​

- Governments​

​

It's certainly fine to say one doesn't like what Apple and Google are doing. But in terms of actually stopping them from doing it, that's the way it is. Now, perhaps mass criticism will convince enough shareholders to apply the necessary pressure, but the vast majority put their own bottom dollar before social causes. Which is why I never expected them to fight for internet freedom. They'll only do that if there's a financial or legal incentive.​

​

​

​

I'll never understand why someone edits out the meat of a post, then posts questions the meat directly addressed as if this makes for a rejoinder. It's explicit evasion and deflection. Yes, profit is the end all, unless and until you convince enough shareholders to change corporate practice or you get lawmakers to pass laws that would cut out those "multi-billions already in the West" and thus force them to do what you wish.

That's reality. Demanding that I justify what you consider Apple's and Google's moral failings is ridiculous and useless, especially when I never said I like what reality is.

 

[Fishking]

See Post #10

See post #12. How many times will you run away from a valid counter point? I'm betting on it being perpetual.

 

[Fishking]

You edited the entire substance out of the post, which was:

​

I'm not saying I like that they cater to such people, but they are a business. Two groups of people get to say what the business should and should not do:​

​

- Shareholders​

- Governments​

​

It's certainly fine to say one doesn't like what Apple and Google are doing. But in terms of actually stopping them from doing it, that's the way it is. Now, perhaps mass criticism will convince enough shareholders to apply the necessary pressure, but the vast majority put their own bottom dollar before social causes. Which is why I never expected them to fight for internet freedom. They'll only do that if there's a financial or legal incentive.​

He won't answer why it's OK for those companies to cater to regimes like China, that are even more restrictive, but is singling out only Russia to be treated differently.

 

[Roadvirus]

We Can No Longer Expect Google and Apple to Fight for Internet Freedom - The Moscow Times

Opinion | Since the backlash over Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election, global tech giants have become replaceable parts of national infrastructure.

www.themoscowtimes.com

Google and its YouTube subsidiary, Apple, and Telegram all succumbed to Kremlin pressure and removed the availability of Alexei Navalny's Smart Voting app from the Russian people.

This app gave Russians viable alternative election candidates to Putin's United Russia rubberstamp candidates.

Why is Apple and Google closing down the Russian Navalny voting app not a massive story?

The story is chilling. Russia is holding a three day election for the Dumas. The Navalny opposition created a brilliant app to help Russian voters in not only voting against the Putin government but having a better chance of voting for people who will...

www.dailykos.com

Big surprise, seeing as Google attempted to help China's censorship endeavors with "Dragonfly"

Dragonfly (search engine) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org