[xte]

DuckDuckGo is a company, so it's aim is not develop something to solve a problem they have but making money. That's why it can't be trusted as any other proprietary service.

Only FOSS so projects developed by someone, companies included, with the aim of solving some authors problem or desire can be trusted to a certain extent.

The rest it doesn't count much you may have "ugly dictators" or "less oppressive dictators" but they are still dictators. It's their nature, no matter how good intentions they have at start or they try to keep.

[tialaramex]

Companies aren't required to make money, this is a popular misconception. The company can have any purpose or set of purposes unless it's illegal, and most often even if "make money" is on the list it isn't the sole purpose.

I appreciate that HN might be more likely than most places to be inhabited by people who can't imagine any other motivation except money, but for most of us there are other priorities.

[xte]

An ancient proverb say "power corrupt, money corrupt": if you start a company with good intention when (if) money and power arrive you start to head naturally toward "dangerous" directions...

Of course exception may exists and actually I'm sure exists, but they are exceptions, not "the rule"...