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But trust the person who's writing a medium post just as they're about to run for senate and need to boost their name id?

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That post is just one of many anecdata (to some degree of truth) out there about Google and other FAANG companies being "ethically challenged".

I remember having done a "computer and society" assignment about 14 years ago on Google and China. I also remember Microsoft's "Halloween Documents" (Embrace, Extend, Extinguish) from early 2000s. And many other scenarios of Big Tech ignoring ethics.

In general, trust (like attention) is a limited resource to be used wisely.

I agree, but things also aren't as black and white as a lot of articles will try to make it. As pointed out in this very article, Google did leave China in 2010, leaving billions of dollar on the table. That is the exact opposite of "big money trumping ethics". Yes I realize they did explore returning to China last year, but it still isn't as cut and dry.

I'm not saying any of these FAANG companies are perfect, but I also don't like grand standing by people like this that really only case about advancing their own image for political reasons.

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