No, Tech Monopolies Don’t Serve National Security

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/09/no-tech-monopolies-dont-serve-national-security

by glitcher • 5 years ago

56 10 5 years ago

zepto3• 5 years ago

In principle they don’t, but in practice they do.

There is no fundamental technical reason we can’t have infrastructure and platforms that are as secure as Google, Apple, and Amazon provide.

However this is in practice an unsolved problem. The software doesn’t exist to replace what these organizations do without the concentrated expertise they bring to bear.

It’s disingenuous to pretend otherwise, and the comparison with AT&T is bordering on ridiculous. You might as well talk about the problems with the monopoly on steam engines at this point.

Nevermark3• 5 years ago

Slowing down innovation with anti-competitive giants does not improve our national security.

The more adapted large companies become to the ability to maintain control via anti-competitive means, the less innovation and creative destruction needs to be prioritized inside those companies, in addition to dampening outside innovation.

In contrast, large companies that compete hard, while also setting high bars for their own behavior, and a willingness to kill their own babies, can remain highly dynamic contributors to progress.

zepto3• 5 years ago

True, but that doesn’t change the calculus.

The current large companies are in cutthroat competition with each other. If one of them slipped for any length of time, their lunch would be eaten.

But also, new entrants haven’t had time to build secure systems. The creative destruction of attempts to build new platforms would come at the expense of the customers.

tupac_speedrap• 5 years ago

The article is bait, please don't give these people clicks.

commoner• 5 years ago

How is this clickbait? It's an article explaining the EFF's support for pending U.S. antitrust legislation.

dryst• 5 years ago

I would argue that they don't serve National Security, they threaten it. These cloud providers are selling the government on being their secret keepers, which secures them against regulation.

No, Tech Monopolies Don’t Serve National Security

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