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Comment by julianlam | Hacker News Reader

That's the question at the center of all this, isn't it. Who actually holds the power here, the state, or the company whose information they hold could severely embarrass anyone who opposes them?

I can't even begin to imagine what similar companies in NA (e.g. Facebook) have on our elected officials.

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Are there examples of large public companies releasing compromising information on elected officials in response to political threats or pressure?

If one's willing to entertain conspiracy theories, none of that material would be put out under FAAMG branding, but rather lesser outlets would conveniently obtain a copy.

That said, the idea is pretty hard in the way of conspiracy -- simplest reduction: why would tech companies take the risk of getting involved in that way at all? When they're already making money hand over fist?

The Church of Scientology debacle is a good example.

Apologies, I meant to say large public companies in my OP, i.e. those listed on the stock exchange. I'd be interested if there was any examples of those using compromising political information for leverage. I understand however that if it happened we may not have heard about it.

We shouldn't forget that Bezos himself was the one who got blackmailed very recently. It wasn't a tech company that did it, but it was a right-wing media outlet with an axe to grind.

I don't think the National Enquirer is a "right-wing media outlet," so much as a sleazy tabloid whose owner happened to be friends with Donald Trump. See e.g., https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/how-the-national-enquir..., in which the same owner tat tried to blackmail Bezos started publishing in 1999 "Why I should be President" articles from Donald Trump, during which time Trump was (briefly) a member of the Reform Party before he became a Democrat.

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