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I agree, but...

First: Google doesn't need saving. They're doing just fine.

Second: I fear that every proposal to save a free and independent press is going to destroy freedom in some very concrete ways.



I think is is a fair response.

1) Any time somebody suggests taxing, breaking up, or otherwise regulating the tech giants, there's a chorus of voices afraid we'll kill their golden goose. That's why I phrased it as a choice to "save" one or the other. If it ever did come down to a binary choice, I'd sooner our society sacrificed Google to save NYT/BBC/Der Spiegel. Others may disagree, of course.

2) There's a legitimate argument to be made that government intervention to shore up the press will result in unintended consequences and/or make the press beholden to their government benefactors.


Copyright has always been a government-backed scheme. Yet that has never stopped a publisher from being critical of the government.




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