
China Is Forcing Tech Companies to Choose Between Profits and Free Speech - jimmy2020
https://onezero.medium.com/china-is-forcing-tech-companies-to-choose-between-profits-and-free-speech-aed1f4db3a4
======
ourlordcaffeine
Here is my github repository tracking who chose what path

[https://github.com/caffeine-
overload/bandinchina](https://github.com/caffeine-overload/bandinchina)

The list of corporations who stood up to China is very short unfortunately

------
PeterStuer
The article states that "We’ve grown used to Americans getting fired for
social media posts that offend other Americans. Now it’s clear they can also
be punished for posts that offend China.".

Seems like companies were forced to make and have made that choice long before
the China issue.

~~~
jimmy2020
Do you think what's going on inside US politics is the same in China? I mean,
have you ever heard about Americans getting fired because of supporting
protest? Or is there anything similar to the situation in Hong Kong?

~~~
syshum
>>I mean, have you ever heard about Americans getting fired because of
supporting protest?

Yes... If you support Libertarian or Conservative things

~~~
elbrian
It's been >2 hours and we're still waiting for your examples and/or sources.

~~~
syshum
Sorry i have a job and can not sit on HN news all day...

As to examples, it is clear by your comments you do not want actual examples
but rather just want to move the goal posts

Cancel Culture is very real, people are terminated from jobs all the time
based on their personal posts on twitter, Facebook, Instagram etc, or other
comments online that "offend" a certain segment of the population that is
perpetually offended at everything and then pressure employers to fire those
people.

Happens every day, across this nation

~~~
elbrian
You really couldn't be bothered to come up with one single example?

Yikes.

------
qubex
The obvious answer is: companies’ profit motive should not be allowed to
impact people’s rights. They’re just not even remotely comparable.

------
svrtknst
Yes, and the choice is embarrassingly simple, especially for multi-million -
or billion - companies.

------
dear
"Short Term Profits and Long Term Death" vs Free Speech

~~~
wutbrodo
How do you figure? Is it your impression that being ethical is generally good
for corporations financially? You're much more optimistic about both the way
the economy works and other people than i am. (I should note that I'm not a
believer in the "corporations automatically behave soulless and corrupt" camp
that's so popular; I just think that your comment's implication goes too far
in the other direction)

~~~
dear
You don't understand how things work in China. It has nothing to do with
ethics. You give up free speech so you can make a few bucks in China. But in
the long run they will only let their own companies thrive. Those the
communist party can control. You will be eaten alive.

~~~
discoverfly
How do you know how things work in China? It's not about free speech. It's
about boycotting the support of splitting a country. If a company says that
American Civil War and Lincoln is evil and illegal. It's free speech. How
American think about it?

~~~
Knove
right! It's not about free speech. It's about boycotting the support of
splitting a country!!!

~~~
jimmy2020
So what do you think of Gulag? A rehabilitation camp keeping the union united
against the enemies of the state.

