[shimman]

Seems fair to me, they're a nonprofit that exists in our lived reality and not an abusive monopolist that can literally throw a billion dollars to subsidize loss leaders.

All it shows the world is why there needs to be a VAT like tax against US digital services to help drive a public option for developers.

There's no reason why the people can't make our own solutions rather than be confined to abusive private US tech platforms.

[germandiago]

Adding taxes to things does not help anyone and goes against free choice.

A better alternative would be to create the incentives so that companies like these can be born in Europe.

[era-epoch]

Companies like Microsoft should not be given "incentives to exist" anywhere (at least as they exist currently). They are corrosive to the public good.

[germandiago]

Are you sure? Enumerate all the competition and associated technilogy this has enabled for decades: tooling, software, etc.

I am not sure how someone should be entitled to prevent others from enjoying thr benefits of better technology.

If you do not like it, just skip it, as I do.

[dtj1123]

Are you seriously trying to pitch the flaming garbage heap that is Microsoft Windows as "better technology"? Microsoft is a predator, they offer licenses to schools at a knock-down rate in order to nurture a dependency on their product. The volume of cash that has been extracted from the general populace in this way is obscene. To top it off they have gone out of their way to sabotage free and open competitors, limiting the market to their shitty and overpriced offerings.

[germandiago]

No, ehat I am saying is that if you go against companies that create wealth not only the bad ones will disappear but also the good ones.

Because you will scare all of them.

[cromka]

This doesn't work in when a market is run by oligopolies, you have to regulate to restore some sort of normalcy and competition.

[germandiago]

Oligopolies are the result of overregulation.

Just fix the right things, not the wrong ones.

[mcv]

How is this particular oligopoly the result of overregulation?

[shimman]

Disagree the only alternative is to let the people decide, I don't trust a dozen men that already have deeply undemocratic beliefs to dictate the direction of tech for society.

You are against democracy, I am not. Democracy has led to some of the best advances of civilization, all oligarchies have done is introduce mass poverty, mass misery, and mass death.

At least with democracy we went to the moon for mankind, not shareholders.

[germandiago]

No. I am not against democracy. If you do not like what someone does, you have rights to fight for.

Your definition of not letting people choose goes more against democracy that what I mean IMHO.

Just do not let these people collude with the power. Fewer politicians would mean fewer people doing business to influence others through politics.

That is what my experience tells me.