Google is Guilty of Apple’s Hubris, Too

Yesterday I wrote about Apple’s increasing bold hubris and unethical behavior.  The evidence was that they use all of their wireless devices to track and record your whereabouts.  That information is then sent to Apple for them to do with what they want.  My source was the New York Times.

This morning the Wall Street Journal is reporting that it isn’t just Apple that is guilty of the erasing of privacy boundaries, Google does exactly the same thing with its Android phones.  This is one of my constant criticisms of capitalism: the justification of a poor, unethical choice based on “everyone else is doing it, so why can’t we do it also?”

The problem is that the creativity of business leaders, motivated by large incentive compensation plans, outstrips the ability of people to follow with ethical and legal frameworks for these businesses to operate within.  It is only after the fact that the full ramifications are seen and understood.

So each new business idea has the potential for unintended consequences.  Whether this is the U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment, or the use of fossil fuels starting in the late 19th century, or the use of genetically modified organisms in food, or the effects of new pharmaceuticals, capitalism and its new money-making ideas make the assumption of a perfect understanding of the effects these new products have on the world.

In fact, the actual cause and effect relationship between new idea and its effect on the world is uncertain.  The reason is that the future is uncertain.  What is certain is that businesses continue to prove that they need legal checks and balances on their choices, because when left to their own devices they usually choose to push out, or to violate entirely, boundaries.

Jason