Google Announces Support of the Controversial TPP (recode.net)

An anonymous reader writes: Google has announced in a blog post Friday their support for the controversial Trans-Pacific Trade Partnership (TPP). Recode reports: "The trade agreement includes key provisions about the global passage of digital data, intellectual property and copyright -- measures that have drawn criticism from both the political right and left, including several outspoken tech groups. Google's endorsement isn't exactly full-throated, but its stake clearly demonstrates another key area of support with the Obama administration, to which Google is close." Google's SVP and general counsel Kent Walker wrote: "The TPP is not perfect, and the trade negotiation process would certainly benefit from greater transparency. We will continue to advocate for process reforms, including the opportunity for all stakeholders to have a meaningful opportunity for input into trade negotiations." The company has already shown support of the TPP behind the Internet Association, which endorsed the trade agreement in March. Google joins a list of other tech titans, like Apple and Microsoft, who have shown their support as well. The Electronic Frontier Foundation calls the TPP a "secretive, multinational trade agreement" that will restrict IP laws and enforce digital policies that "benefit big corporations at the expense of the public." The TPP is still awaiting congressional approval after being signed in February.

Comments

No suprise

[Anonymous Coward]

The TPP was written by corporations, for corporations. No surprise that Google supports it. We need a revolution in this country.

Re:No suprise

[Anonymous Coward]

We need a revolution in this country.

Here's your problem. Most of the millennials, who are being screwed the hardest by this unholy alliance of corporations and government, have never even handled a gun. They don't know how to use guns and even if they did they're far too craven to actually stand up and fight. Voting, as we have all seen, is useless because the corporations pay both sides. Bernie Sanders was the only major candidate so far in my lifetime who wasn't bought and paid for by the corporations, but the people were too stupid to nominate him. Clinton is going to win and she will sell out the young in a heartbeat to cut deals with the corporations, just like Bill did back in the 90s. Basically, we're screwed.

Re:No suprise

[MrKaos]

We need a revolution in this country.

Here's your problem. Most of the millennials, who are being screwed the hardest by this unholy alliance of corporations and government, have never even handled a gun. Basically, we're screwed.

Stop being so damn defeatist. You don't need a gun and you don't need violence, you need a pen. All you need to do, en masse, is get off your lazy ass and start lobbying politicians directly. Stop watching hours of moronic TV, get on your computer, fire up a word processor and start writing letters and tell them exactly what you want.

All of these paid lobby groups are minorities gambling that you will continue to sit there and have that exact attitude. There is no need to troll the politicians, be respectful and they will listen as 1 letter means about 100 people think that way, to them. That means 100 votes, and votes are currency just as much as money is to a politician as 100 votes is enough to make a difference in an election. I have had unexpected success on issues with politicians just by telling the *how* to address my concerns.

There is a reason why the adage goes The pen is mightier than the sword. Exercise your democratic right, stop whining and participate in your own future.

Re:No suprise

[Anonymous Coward]

Tell that to Israel, Northern Ireland, Afghanistan and Somalia.

Northern Ireland finally decided otherwise.

Re:No suprise

[drinkypoo]

Stop being so damn defeatist. You don't need a gun and you don't need violence, you need a pen.

Ahh, the old canard about the pen being mightier than the sword. Guess what? It's a lot more difficult to use properly, and the American public has been undereducated for decades.

All you need to do, en masse, is get off your lazy ass and start lobbying politicians directly.

Is that what they told you? You really are special, aren't you?

Stop watching hours of moronic TV, get on your computer, fire up a word processor and start writing letters and tell them exactly what you want.

Look, kiddo, someone needs to explain to you how American "democracy" works, and it's not like this. The way it works is that you get a big bag of money, you enclose a bill for your pet congresscritter to sponsor, and then you mail it off to them. Shortly thereafter, you get a law. If you don't enclose a big check with your request, it gets round-filed.

Your naivete would be charming in a small child. In an adult, it's horrifying.

There is no need to troll the politicians, be respectful and they will listen as 1 letter means about 100 people think that way, to them.

And they give precisely as much of a shit about those other 99 people as they do about you. If you don't lobby them with money then they don't give a fuck. They might use the information to determine to what they should pay lip service, but they're not going to do anything for you.

I have had unexpected success on issues with politicians just by telling the *how* to address my concerns.

You think they did what they did because you said so? Wow, you really are special.

Re:No suprise

[mjm1231]

You're very right about how the current system is screwed, but it's also exactly the reason the guns and bullets solution is likely to fail. The same money that buys politicians will also buy a lot more guns and ammo than the opposition can muster. And replacing "money makes right" with "might makes right" doesn't seem like a step forward to me.

Even as undereducated as we are, we need to find a better way.

Re: No suprise

[Anonymous Coward]

Northern Ireland is perhaps not the best example for your argument against plebian gun ownership. The Irish won their freedom from the yoke of English tyranny through force of arms.

Google is out of their fucking minds

[Anonymous Coward]

Just like the 200+ comments on Hacker News, another news aggregation site with a very tech-savvy demo, you will have to look really hard to find anyone who supports the TPP.

The EFF has written extensively how digital rights are negatively affected by this.

The TPP is bad, bad, bad, and it's been fast tracked for passage with no debate/oversight. Hopefully there will be a SOPA-like outcry against it that shuts it down. All three Dem/GOP presidential candidates claim to be against it (but we'll see how long that lasts). Not sure about libertarian candidates.. somehow I suspect they'll take the more traditional "free trade" perspective, but maybe I'll be delightfully surprised.

Too bad Google's on the wrong side of history here.

Re:Google is out of their fucking minds

[Kjella]

Too bad Google's on the wrong side of history here.

Considering history is written by the winners and all the rich and powerful are in favor of TPP, I wouldn't bet on it. Google's on top now, they make lots of money and can deal with the overhead of the DMCA, the "right to be forgotten" and various rules and requirements. They know their startup competitors will struggle more than they do, it's securing their own business.

As a hard-core liberal I have to say...

[hyades1]

Google has been sucking President Obama's cock since the day he took office. Their people have visited the White House just about weekly since he started work.

President Obama, like President Clinton, is a hard-core right wing conservative masquerading as somebody who gives a fuck about anybody who doesn't pull down a $30 million per year salary. Hillary Clinton will be exactly the same.

Google is backing Obama, Clinton and the TPP because all of them are bought and paid for by people who want to put you in jail if your 10-year-old kid downloads a Disney song.

That's not hyperbole, by the way.

Re:Re

[Ol Olsoc]

Decently put. I'm in the same boat.

I was going to disagree with you about capitalism, but the wiki on free-market capitalism says that it includes some intervention where necessary to keep the market set by supply/demand (e.g. no monopolies). So it kind of depends on which definition of capitalism you go with.

I actually like Capitalism. But it seriously has to be protected from itself, as do most idealistic concepts. Because it kills itself very quickly. A system based on greed - or better put, the concept of doing well for yourself will almost always shake out to the greediest, after they get ahead of others, wanting to alter the game so they make more, or in pathological cases, all of the money.

As for the definition of capitalism, it has been corrupted, and altogether too many politicians have bought into it. The old "class warfare" pejoratives that used to be trotted out any time someone complained about excesses were the highlight of the one sided supply side argument.

Somewhere along the line, we forgot that the best way to have producers become wealthy was to have people have the money to purchase their goods.

Maybe this is why there's been a push lately to not teach algebra in schools. THe idea that an equation has two sides is dangerous thought.