[palata]

> No wonder the EU can't build.

That was unnecessary.

> I don't blame them or any company for exploring how they can monetize every last morsel of data.

That's how a company works: try to do everything they legally can to make as much money as they can. Society has to decide of the framework into which companies optimize, and that is materialized with laws that the companies must follow. In the EU, there is a tendency to believe that users have a right to some kind of privacy.

Of course, this constrains what companies can do, and you could say "no wonder the EU can't build". I just call that cultural differences. In most countries in the EU, people don't have to start a crowdfunding campaign when they go to the hospital, because they actually have some kind of social security. I am all for GDPR.

[josephg]

> That's how a company works: try to do everything they legally can to make as much money as they can.

No, companies don’t need to be like that. This is a meme that needs to die. Companies can have a set of values (principles) and act according to those principles. Any investors can be told ahead of time the principles by which the company operates, and if they don’t want to buy stock on that basis, they’re welcome to stay out.

Bryan Cantrill has had some excellent rants about this over the years. Eg: https://youtu.be/bNfAAQUQ_54 . His take is that money for a company is like fuel in a car. You don’t go for a road trip (start a company) because you want to get more fuel. You go because there’s some place you want to get to. And fuel (money) is something you need along the way to make your journey possible.

Don’t let sociopathic assholes off the hook. They aren’t forced to be like that. They’re choosing to abandon their ethics and common decency. Everyone would be better off if this sort of behaviour wasn’t tolerated.

[palata]

> No, companies don’t need to be like that.

Well, they don't need to. But the people at the top make more money if they are. And they are not at the top because they have principles: they are at the top because they want power or money.

> Companies can have a set of values (principles) and act according to those principles.

I would love it, but I just can't buy it. Like at all. How many big companies do you know where the executives don't get a much higher salary than the employees? Humans can't help it: if they are in a position of power, they will think they are worth more.

> Any investors can be told ahead of time the principles

IMO, if you have principles, you are not an investor. And investors want to get ROI, which is more likely from companies that don't have principles.

> His take is that money for a company is like fuel in a car.

Sounds exceedingly naive to me :-). The driver does not get fuel at the end of every month.

> Everyone would be better off if this sort of behaviour wasn’t tolerated.

Yes. We need laws, set by the society. We need the people to understand that they will never be one of those rich executives, and to vote for laws that prevent them to become indecently rich.