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Comment by filoleg | Hacker News Reader

HN in a nutshell: everyone in the comments advocating for Google to be investigated, right until the point when Peter Thiel suggests it. At that point, slam the breaks and turn 180.

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What Thiel wants investigated and what the general HN user wants are very different things I would imagine. Personally I'm more concerned with what Google is doing with my data, and how much they are sharing with a PRISM like program than anything involving China. Thiel's basis for this is also rather weak. A censored search engine and sharing AI with the military are two entirely different things. I oppose both for the record, but just because they are both bad does not equate them.

The censored search engine would be de facto controlled by the Chinese military, so no they are not entirely different things.

I'd argue that 'HN' is not a monoculture, and opposing viewpoints come up from time to time in response to new information, from people who might otherwise have kept their thoughts on the issue to themselves.

I agree, it isn't a monoculture. But on some topics, HN seems to have a bit more uniform response than on others. I remember GDPR being highly polarized with both sides represented about 50/50, maybe slightly leaning towards anti-GDPR. On others, however, like investigating Google or SF housing crisis/zoning issues, the opinion breakdown seems to be much closer to at least 80/20.

I don't know man, the surveillance conspiracy theory is kinda at least a smidge more believable than the treason conspiracy theory.

I see plenty of opinions on HN from both sides on both typical Google concerns and on this one specifically, so I don't agree that the HN community had some kind of politically hypocritical bias. It's also likely that any given person could want Google more regulated in some way, but disagree with Thiel's hateful, politicized ramblings here, where he suggests much more extreme tactics.

Peter Thiel wants Google to be investigated for spy infiltration and treasonous behavior. Are you pointing out that HN is so hypocritical for not following along?

It must be breathtaking to be so sure that Google should be investigated for spies and to see HN just turn its back to the issue. I also personally think the spies have gone too far and the CIA needs to do its job and clean Google's house. I am also speechless as to how the HN community, which sees the need to regulate for mere privacy issues, would then turn around on the serious matter of espionage.

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