The Digital Corporate State

Jesse Walker | January 26, 2009

If you want to watch some wealthy companies finding it profitable to duke it out in Washington instead of the marketplace, read Wired's report on Google's battles with its rivals. This passage is particularly telling:

Last spring, Microsoft supported bills in the New York and Connecticut legislatures to impose strict regulations on businesses that gather personal information online for marketing purposes. The bills would hurt Microsoft, too, given that it also wants to sell advertisements based on customer behavior. But the self-inflicted wound may be worth it for the damage it causes Google.

And then there's this quiet comment, about Microsoft's successful use of the Justice Department to block an ad deal between Google and Yahoo:

Publicly, Google remained upbeat after the arrangement fell apart. Lobbyists for the company maintained that even in failure they had kept Yahoo out of the hands of Microsoft for at least six months, perhaps permanently. And if Microsoft eventually tries to snap up Yahoo, Google can respond with the same kind of antitrust arguments that were deployed against it.

Comments

cm|1.26.09 @ 11:23AM|#

Both Microsoft and Google want to use the government to hurt and/or eliminate their competition. What else is new? This has been how big business has operated since the dawn of time.

The Honorable Governor of Illi|1.26.09 @ 11:31AM|#

Fuck the digital corporate state. You think Obama got huge fucking contributions from Google and isn't giving anyfuckingthing in return?

Fuck no. Fucking Hope and Change is on the fucking way for fucking Google.

Lefiti|1.26.09 @ 11:36AM|#

The problem is we have too many corporations controlling things.

We should only have two corporations: one for digging holes, the other for filling them in. Everyone would be equal and have to dig holes (including the CEO, which there wouldn't be one).

Well, some people would only have to fill holes, which is easier, so that might be unequal a little bit. There are some kinks to work out but it's a good plan I think.

adrian|1.26.09 @ 11:46AM|#

For the ignorant fucks to follow that will say capitalism has failed GFY.

Colonel_Angus|1.26.09 @ 12:05PM|#

FUCK DA FTC!

|1.26.09 @ 12:38PM|#

It's stupid for them to fight it out like this. They should just build battle bots and fight this out like the rest of the nerd community.

stuartl|1.26.09 @ 12:42PM|#

Both Microsoft and Google want to use the government to hurt and/or eliminate their competition. What else is new? This has been how big business has operated since the dawn of time.

Originally Microsoft didn't play the game and lost big anti-trust cases. Now they do.

Paul|1.26.09 @ 4:01PM|#

"When buying and selling are controlled by legislation, the first things to be bought and sold are legislators." -- P.J. O'Rourke