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by distrill 2175 days ago
> Everyone uses AWS at the complete discretion of Amazon

Isn't this totally obvious?

What might be more interesting to note, and what the author is testing for, is if/when these cloud providers change the rules of their discretion often or abruptly. But of course we're all at the mercy of these private companies when we run on their hardware.

3 comments

Which is an argument for "common carrier" type regulation. Railroads once had a similar monopoly position. They could refuse to carry items from one shipper to favor another. In the US they have an obligation to provide "reasonable service for a reasonable rate upon a reasonable request from a shipper".[1] There's long history around this, and it may be time to apply it to some Internet services.

[1] https://www.ams.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media/Railroads...

There is no line that can be tested. There is no common law or due process here. Tech platforms operate by fiat.

I take that back a bit, there is a line, but it is measured in money not principles.

> Isn't this totally obvious?

Without looking at contracts, no.