Tech giants have as much money and influence as nations

Re:Tech giants have as much money and influence as nations by tasogare on Sunday January 12, 2020 @09:09AM (#22026329)

In theory yes, but it takes a government with "balls" to take this kind of stance. Big companies owners and leaders are from the same schools, eat at the same table, are friends with the politician ruling class. One government might take action against a foreign company because it is foreign, yet allows the same behavior from a domestic company. Ultimately the people need to cut some heads to remember them what is the commoner interest. (ps: the last sentence is mostly a joke, based on France history)

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Re:Tech giants have as much money and influence as nations by _0ffh on Sunday January 12, 2020 @01:00PM (#22027807)

> One government might take action against a foreign company because it is foreign, yet allows the same behavior from a domestic company

Yup, I think we have seen that with Monsanto. US courts mostly got the kid gloves out when dealing with their antics. Cue Monsanto gets acquired by Bayer, next thing you know it's convictions left and right.

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Re:Tech giants have as much money and influence as nations by adventured on Sunday January 12, 2020 @01:18PM (#22027957)

The likely decade of court losses was clearly inbound, it's why Monsanto was sold off. There was going to be no upside to the stock in that atmosphere, so a nicely priced sale was the optimal out. The court losses you're referring to were well set before the sale. The roundup trial for example was filed a year prior to the sale. The lawyers for Monsanto and Bayer very likely knew how bad it was, they had a better view than anybody else.

Bayer knew exactly what it was buying: they're going to trade a mere year or two of Monsanto profit (maximum), across a decade, to pay for the overall legal hit. In exchange they get to buy a fortress of intellectual property and one of the globe's dominant AG chem / AG biotech businesses (on a planet that will add ~3 billion more people to feed in the coming decades).

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Re:Tech giants have as much money and influence as nations by bsanr2 on Sunday January 12, 2020 @10:31AM (#22026689)

What's worse: big company owners and big financiers are from the same schools, etc. It's not unheard of for a nation that's threatened an overreaching company with sanctions or nationalization to find itself facing a coup, or shut out of an advantageous (read: actually workable) stake in the world monetary establishment. In fact, that's basically the modern history of the southern hemisphere.

You don't get to play unless the global oligarchs can skim off what they want, even if it breaks your economy (all the better! Who doesn't love an entire population in thrall to your whims?). The American government is currently part of that oligarchy, but see what happens if Bernie Sanders is elected.

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Re:Tech giants have as much money and influence as nations by Twixes on Sunday January 12, 2020 @07:53PM (#22030958)

Well, American oligarchs can spend a lot of money and effort to prevent someone like Bernie Sanders from getting elected president

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