• Wilco@lemmy.zip
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    1 day ago

    That is how capitalism works.

    The American Weather Service provided weather updates for free, but a company came along and just started copying what the weather service posted … then sued the Weather Service for publicly posting the weather because the government is not allowed to provide a service for free that a company can charge for.

    Insanity.

    • MalikMuaddibSoong@startrek.website
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      23 hours ago

      the government is not allowed to provide a service for free that a company can charge for

      I am beyond mildly infuriated by such an idiotic stance, but it tracks with what I’ve seen.

      RIP postal service you’re next.

    • MaggiWuerze@feddit.org
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      1 day ago

      Same thing happened in Germany where the DWD collects and publishes weather data. Wetter.de came along and sued them, forcing them to hide features in their app (developed and paid for by tax money) behind a paywall. That was later overturned, but I still refuse to use their site

      • Wilco@lemmy.zip
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        19 hours ago

        Yes! Exact same here. Its so dumb it sounds made up. A random company comes along and just gets to sell what was once free.

    • TheStaffmaster@lemmy.world
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      1 day ago

      Government issues the business licenses. Seems like someone needs to be reminded who has who by the balls.

      • Jaysyn@lemmy.world
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        16 hours ago

        State governments issue business licenses. This is how we will kill Citizen’s United.

        Hawaii first, Montana next.

      • Doomsider@lemmy.world
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        1 day ago

        In case anyone didn’t know the answer is business as in business has the government by the balls.

          • cecilkorik@piefed.ca
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            15 hours ago

            That’s exactly right, and it’s clearly why they intentionally decided to let the businesses have guns and gave them all the other rights in the constitution, knowing they would someday be declared to be actual “people” by a series of what must be the stupidest and most destructive legal precedents ever set in the history of humanity.

      • unwarlikeExtortion@lemmy.ml
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        1 day ago

        Yup. Government has businesses by the balls.

        But corruption exists.

        Therefore the goverment only ever really pulls small businesses and normal people by the balls, while the big businesses and uber rich (money heavyweights) get to pull the government by the tongue. Sometimes even the balls as well.

        Just as Supply Side Jesus intended.

        • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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          24 hours ago

          Yup. Government has businesses by the balls.

          I don’t think that they do anymore. Not in the US.

          The opposite is true here.