Google Constructor Fleet

Google Constructor Fleet

Posted Sep 9, 2009 11:39 UTC (Wed) by pboddie (guest, #50784)
In reply to: EFF: National Coalition of Authors Urge Rejection of Google Book Search Deal by gmaxwell
Parent article: EFF: National Coalition of Authors Urge Rejection of Google Book Search Deal

Want something from the public? Find a strawman who claims to represent the public, have the strawman begin a class action lawsuit against you, settle with the the terms laid out to achieve your goal by setting the obligations you want on the public.

This is the essence of the matter for me. Those people distracted by the "free money" angle should take a few moments to understand that Google and the "strawman" in this matter are effectively revoking the rights of other people.

Sure... individuals can opt out, but only will if they know they can and if the harm to them is greater than the trouble it takes to do so.

Modern living is infuriating enough without having to track all the deceitful practices going on out of sight which might ultimately have an impact on one's own ability to earn a living, or on other fundamental rights which could be affected by "creative" applications of these practices. The "you can opt out" excuse (equivalent to "The plans were on display!") doesn't by any means justify such wrongdoing, even if apologists believe that one should give Google and their "do no evil" policy as much benefit of the doubt as a Vogon would.

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