Comment by rockskon
1 month ago
Financial incentives, while a large motivator for companies, are frequently not the exclusive one.
Google for quite a few years was seen as a good steward of the free and open Internet.
To assert people shouldn't feel betrayed because "it's a company" fundamentally ignores why people had different expectations for Google to begin with.
When, 2001? By the time Chrome came out it had been clear that was not true for awhile.
Up until roughly 2010 Google was a pretty consistent advocate and activist for the open Internet.
Because it was in their financial interest to do so. Their business is dependent on the internet after all.
The problem is that people are quick to assume a company is being altruistic just because the financial incentives happen to align with their own incentives.