Comment by tempfile
2 years ago
Hopefully this paves the way for antitrust action, but I won't hold my breath.
Reddit's justification for this is profoundly wrong. Their "public content policy" is absurd doublespeak, and counter to everything the open internet is and hopes to be. You cannot simultaneously call yourself "open" and "public" while refusing access to automated clients. Every client is automated. They even go so far as to say that "crawling" (also known as "downloading") is an "abuse" and violates user privacy.
This is absurd, and not justified. I would love to see legislation that restricted server operators' ability to prohibit automated access in this way, but I suppose it will never happen. Some people in this thread have attempted to justify the policy by saying "they have to protect their income streams". No they don't. You don't have a right to an income stream, and you certainly don't have a right to lie in order to get all the benefits of an open internet with none of the downsides. Noting of course that the "downsides" are in this case actually just "competitors".
Sorry, what is the antitrust concern about Reddit blocking crawlers that aren’t paying them? Surely you don’t think Reddit has a monopoly on anything?
Or are you somehow suggesting that it’s google’s fault that Reddit took this step? I don’t see any indication that’s the case.
not that reddit has a monopoly, but that google has.
google is using their power to prevent others from competing.
the problem here is of course that if reddit would be in financial trouble (i don't know if they are but let's imagine they need this money), they'd be between a rock and a hard place.
google should not be allowed to make exclusive deals, and reddit could not survive without the deal, then what would be left? google buys reddit, or the relevant authority approves of the deal?
i thought about the same problem with firefox. let's assume firefox is forced to allow people to make a choice of the default search engine (just like microsoft was forced to allow a choice of default browser on windows) then google might stop paying mozilla, and they could end up in financial trouble.
ideally no company ever depends on a single other company that much, but that only works if we don't allow companies to grow that much in the first place.
> let's assume firefox is forced to allow people to make a choice of the default search engine
let assume apple is forced to allow people to make a choice of the default search engine in safari then google might stop paying apple, and ...
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> let's assume firefox is forced to allow people to make a choice of the default search engine
Firefox has always allowed people to make a choice of the default search engine, since before it was even called Firefox. I know. I was there building it.
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If the only way your company can exist is as part of a monopoly scheme then it should stop existing.
And as for Firefox, Mozilla being forced off Google's teat would be the best thing that could happen to the browser.
Yes, sorry, should have been more clear: I claim google is in a monopoly position, not reddit. The rest of the comment is unrelated ranting about reddit's betrayal of their previously-held "public data is public" position.