Today’s links The Google antitrust remedy should extinguish surveillance, not democratize it: “People like relevant ads” is a lie, and “attribution” is an abomination. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. This day in history: 2004, 2009, 2019, 2023 Upcoming appearances: Where to find me. Recent appearances: Where I’ve been. Latest books: You keep readin’ em, I’ll keep writin’ ’em. Upcoming books: Like I said, I’ll keep writin’ ’em. Colophon: All the rest. The Google antitrust remedy should extinguish surveillance, not democratize it (permalink) If you are even slightly plugged into the doings and goings on in this tired old world of ours, then you have heard that Google has lost its antitrust case against the DOJ Antitrust Division, and is now an official, no-foolin’, convicted monopolist. This is huge. Epochal. The DOJ, under the leadership of the fire-breathing trustbuster Jonathan Kantor, has done something that was inconceivable four years ago when he was appointed. On Kantor’s first day on the job as head of the Antitrust Division, he addressed his gathered prosecutors and asked them to raise their hands if they’d never lost a case. It was a canny trap. As the proud, victorious DOJ lawyers thrust their arms into the air, Kantor quoted James Comey, who did the same thing on his first day on the job as DA for the Southern District of New York: “You people are the chickenshit club.” A federal prosecutor who never loses a case is a prosecutor who only goes after easy…Pluralistic: The Google antitrust remedy should extinguish surveillance, not democratize it (07 Aug 2024)