Re:U.S. states lean toward breaking up Google's ad tech busi...
by aspenmayer on Friday June 05, 2020 @10:03PM
(#23436158)
When you have quarterly profits larger than some small nations entire yearly GDP, it’s as much a question of if you need international relations so much as it’s a question of if you would benefit from having one, and the answer is an obvious yes. They can afford the best, so they can meet with and wine and dine the best.
Perhaps all this familiarity is finally breeding contempt from certain quarters? Perhaps it’s a bit of envy on both sides; nations envious of multinational profits and reach, and multinational firms envious of national self-justifying existence.
I wonder how long til Starlink starts providing extraterritorial/extraterrestrial VPS?
I find it interesting that we're reasoning in terms of balance of power, pre-eminence, and hegemony, to address issues related to a few companies. Cardinal de Richelieu sure would have found his footing.
No wonder some Google had a "Head of International Relations" whose job is to deal with diplomats, the U.N and the like[^1]. I believe Condoleezza Rice is also on the board of Dropbox.
[^1]: https://medium.com/@rossformaine/i-was-googles-head-of-inter...