alt Hacker NewsThere should be a rule that any assertion of conspiracy must at least have some evidence.
I worked at MS and was involved in several decisions to not ship in the EU because it just wasn’t worth the internal and external regulatory headache. There was no secret agenda, Satya never told me to stick it to the EU by withholding a feature in the hopes the masses would clamor for it and demand regulatory changes, which would eventually allow us to… ship the feature in a decade or so.
I’m super sympathetic to the EU’s intent, but their execution is so obviously self-defeating that it doesn’t take elaborate conspiracies to explain corporate response.
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> There should be a rule that any assertion of conspiracy must at least have some evidence.
Broadly, I agree, and good grief do I wish people would follow this more often. But Google specifically has acted incredibly anti-competitively for several years now [0], especially regarding Android. This has gone on for such a long time that they have, in my mind, lost the benefit of any doubt.
As they continue to lock down Android [1], things that would have once been met with a "Wait and see" approach are instead met with suspicion and a default assumption that it's primarily (though not typically exclusively) done to serve their own interests.
So generally, yes! That which is asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence. However, Google's history is all the evidence I need to assume their actions are not done in good faith.
[0] https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2018/07/googles-iron-grip-on...
[1] https://manualdousuario.net/en/blocking-unverified-apps-andr...
> but their execution is so obviously self-defeating
Well no. It’s not self defeating. It’s being defeated because these are US tech companies, protected by US monopoly power, and the fact that US lawmakers are captured by lobbyists and are incapable of passing similar laws to protect their constituents. Big difference.