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A lot of dystopian scifi involves corporations; Robocop, Weyland-Yutani Corp from Aliens, etc. Google's got more power than substantial numbers of governments.



And yet Google can't come knock on your door and take you away. Calling it dystopian can only come from an incredibly sheltered individual who has never faced any real danger.


> And yet Google can't come knock on your door and take you away.

Not directly... https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2022/08/googles-scans-private-...

Plenty of dystopian fiction involves corporations legally not allowed to do something and still doing it, because they're functionally immune to consequences. There are also degrees of dystopian between "murder corp" and Mr. Rogers Neighborhood.

You might have an overly narrow definition of "dystopian".


Thank you for proving my point: the government did that.


Google wielded its substantial power and reputation to trigger government action incorrectly, causing someone to have significant difficulty.

IMO, that's at least a bit dystopian. (The blurring of lines between goverment and corporation is another dystopian scifi trope, even.)


It doesn't take any special power or reputation to report someone for having CSAM with evidence, erroneously or not. You or I could do it.


Again, missing the point.

It's not just the action; it's the ability to do it without significant consequences. I could sue you for slander if you called me a pedophile; my ability to do so (successfully) against Google is quite limited. Law enforcement is also likely to treat an accusation from Google differently than from some random person.


If the government is at the behest to the corporation's decrees then it's just a proxy and the end result is the same.


Not all dystopias are of the "direct violence" type.




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