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by mc32 1992 days ago
I’m asking for a stance.

I think in a democratic society we accept certain structures and laws. If the government declares a group an enemy of the state, then I think it’s fair to comply with that law. Making your own laws is not though.

However, just the other day there was hooplah about GitHub not allowing access from Iran. So it’s like people want to eat their cake and also have it.
2 comments
eightysixfour 1992 days ago
I think this is actually a great point because it shows how much grey there is in something you're trying to make black and white.

China is not declared a foreign enemy by law and yet the US government is actively using banning and sanctioning their otherwise legally operating companies. If they're not a foreign enemy, do they not have rights in the US?

This whole thing is only shades of grey. Pretending it is black and white makes an honest conversation about it impossible.

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mc32 1992 days ago
The China situation is complicated by the unfair nature of commerce with them. They can ban Twitter. Google etc. Rip off IP and so on.

So while not an enemy, they do engage in anticompetitive activities and we should counter them.

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eightysixfour 1992 days ago
But what if our companies are breaking Chinese law (like, not filtering searches), and that's why they've been banned?
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mc32 1992 days ago
It’s true and in that case unless it breaks US law, these companies should comply with local regulation.

Now that becomes complicated when you deal with authoritarian regimes whose local laws may significantly violate international law (severe human rights violations, etc).

But that’s only half the deal. The other are the one sided onerous and coercive terms applied to foreign/international companies.

There are two main possibilities of why Google almost pulled out completely from China. One was safeguarding IP, the other is that at the time they cared a bit more about their ideals.

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alpaca128 1992 days ago
Twitter doesn't make their own laws. They have a privately owned platform and can choose how to manage it to some degree. Just like a restaurant can kick you out if you don't act responsibly.

It might be different if Twitter had a monopoly on social networks, but that's not the case.

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