←back to thread

Brazil's X ban is sending lots of people to Bluesky

(www.theverge.com)
420 points rvz | 5 comments | 31 Aug 24 13:28 UTC | HN request time: 1.076s | source
Show context
toomuchtodo ◴[31 Aug 24 22:51 UTC] No.41412640[source]▶
“Masterful gambit, sir.”

(X is facing a deep decline in revenue, cutting its valuation from $44B to ~$12B [Musk’s stake is worth ~$7B], and Musk makes a choice that drives millions of users to an alternate site: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/twitters-revenue-collapses-84...)

replies(3): >>41412734 #>>41413298 #>>41414746 #
pqdbr ◴[31 Aug 24 23:09 UTC] No.41412734[source]▶
More power to him. He’s making the hard choices and paying a steep price for actually standing for free speech like no other big tech does.
replies(7): >>41412751 #>>41412796 #>>41412799 #>>41413244 #>>41413607 #>>41417917 #>>41423065 #
xmprt ◴[31 Aug 24 23:20 UTC] No.41412796[source]▶
> actually standing for free speech

I don't know how anyone can continue to claim this with a straight face when he sued advertisers for not continuing to advertise on the website.

replies(2): >>41413092 #>>41413192 #
WalterBright ◴[01 Sep 24 00:40 UTC] No.41413192[source]▶
"The lawsuit from his X platform against the non-profit advertising initiative GARM has led to its dissolution. A major ad industry group is shutting down, days after Elon Musk-owned X filed a lawsuit that claimed the group illegally conspired to boycott advertising on his platform." -- Google

I.e. Musk did not sue the advertisers.

replies(2): >>41413303 #>>41413315 #
eadler ◴[01 Sep 24 00:57 UTC] No.41413303[source]▶
Yes he did:

https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.txnd.39...

Parties include the following. The last 5 are advertisers.

- WORLD FEDERATION OF ADVERTISERS;

- UNILEVER PLC

- UNILEVER UNITED STATES, INC.

- MARS, INCORPORATED

- CVS HEALTH CORPORATION

- ØRSTED A/S

docket: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69017972/x-corp-v-world...

replies(1): >>41413724 #
WalterBright ◴[01 Sep 24 02:26 UTC] No.41413724[source]▶
Yes, he sued not only the cartel organization, but its members. That seems only reasonable, as he sued them for violations of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act.

Do you think the Sherman Act is an unreasonable limitation on the free market?

replies(2): >>41413789 #>>41414422 #
1. threeseed ◴[01 Sep 24 05:02 UTC] No.41414422[source]▶
So he did sue the advertisers.

And unless Musk has some extraordinary evidence it will be difficult to provide those advertisers colluded together to better themselves at the expense of other market participants. Especially when they aren't even in the same markets.

Also if you think this situation is akin to a cartel god knows what you think of IMDB or the Michelin guide.

replies(1): >>41414638 #
2. WalterBright ◴[01 Sep 24 05:50 UTC] No.41414638[source]▶
The linked documents describe the cartel and how it violated the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. It's not a difficult read.
replies(1): >>41415482 #
3. kelnos ◴[01 Sep 24 09:30 UTC] No.41415482[source]▶
Musk's lawyers "describing" something isn't evidence.

Given Musk's personality, I would not be the tiniest bit surprised if he's suing without any actual evidence, just because he's angry and because he can.

I mean, remember, this is the guy who tried to get out of buying Twitter, and then refused to pay out contractually-obligated packages to many of the former management team he fired. (I'm not the biggest fan in the world of golden parachutes, but this was pretty egregious.)

replies(1): >>41418476 #
4. WalterBright ◴[01 Sep 24 17:06 UTC] No.41418476{3}[source]▶
Sorry, but I'm saddened by about how far people are willing to go to dislike Musk.

As far as I am concerned, his contributions to the US, society, and the future via Tesla, SpaceX, Neuralink, etc., dwarf his various foibles.

P.S. if the pay packages were contractually obligated, then the courts would have forced him to pay them. Courts are generally pretty biased in favor of employees when they sue their employer.

P.P.S if his case has no merit, the advertisers are hardly unable to defend themselves, they are huge corporations. You don't need to feel sorry for them.

replies(1): >>41419058 #
5. mplewis ◴[01 Sep 24 18:25 UTC] No.41419058{4}[source]▶
Yeah, I love living in a society where money is diverted from public infrastructure like railroads into fake vacuum-tube con jobs and tunnels that hold more cars. I love living next to unreliable cars that drive into traffic and catch on fire. I’m happy when rocket launches destroy local ecosystems with concrete waste and toxic pollution. Elon has really done so much for humanity.