Some remarks about these donations. First, they are wholly unnecessary. Google runs an enormous D.C. lobbying organization and throwing a few thousand dollars at candidates changes nothing. Apple and IBM prove you don't need a PAC to thrive as a giant U.S. tech company.
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Replying to @Pinboard
These are hard to read. I remember being a fresh immigrant and being wholly confused about what I was being asked to support, luckily I ignored it.
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I asked what netpac would support and was expecting an answer like "aligned with the EFF". They told me they couldn't give a specific answer, so I said no thanks.
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I will add that being a progressive I think this is an ethical fail, but even if you were a Machiavellian it's *still* a fail. How is Google's reputation with the lunatic right (aka 95% of them these days) working out?
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I can still remember the completely “does not compute” reaction I got from Eric Schmidt in a Q&A when I pointed out that in Europe it’s not considered appropriate for companies to donate to political candidates and that his cosying up to the Tories made Google look biased.
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His reply was basically that everyone does this and it’s necessary to guarantee access to decision-makers. “Google is not a conventional company” my arse, thought I. It was a highly disillusioning moment in my career.
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A particularly galling answer given that IBM never did it. (I don't know if Apple did and stopped, or never did).
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Regulatory capture is essential for companies like Google and Facebook in a way that it isn’t for companies that build and sell products (Apple and IBM). When regulators refuse to be captured you end up with GDPR and they’re terrified of a similar thing happening in the US.
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That's not the case. Google and Facebook have both been advocating for a GDPR-ish regulation, and lobbying for it quite effectively. IBM sells services, not products. And regulatory capture doesn't happen through small political donations
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I’ll bet they want to be in a position to help write said regulation, though.
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They write it and lobby for the text they wrote. My point is that campaign donations are not how modern lobbying works.
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Yep, and point well taken. I don’t have the glorious privilege of residing in the Land of the Free so I’ll admit to being a bit shaky on some of the details.
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