Just Weeks After Cutting Off Wikileaks, Amazon Brags About How US Federal Gov't Is One Of Its Biggest AWS Customers?
from the must-be-a-coincidence,-huh? dept
While Senator Joe Lieberman took credit for pressuring Amazon to stop hosting Wikileaks content via its Amazon Web Services infrastructure, Amazon insisted that government pressure had nothing to do with it. Still, it seems rather odd that just weeks after booting Wikileaks, Amazon sent out a press release bragging about how the US federal government is one of its biggest customers (found via Slashdot). Now, obviously, lots of tech companies do plenty of business with the federal government, but the timing of the two events at least creates an impression that Amazon will kick you off its service if the federal government disapproves of what you've done (even if no legal charges have been filed against you). Again, no one is saying that Amazon has no right to deny service to whomever it wishes, but it does seem a bit odd from a PR standpoint, and raises questions about how much anyone should trust working with Amazon web services. I know it's making me reconsider my own use of the platform for various projects.
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So, is it just the government that has Amazon at their beck and call, or could any sufficiently well-paying entity have a site kicked off of Amazon?
Probably not. Personally, I think they're just worried about Lieberman & company going ballistic. But still, their PR department definitely fumbled this one.
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There is also the other thing for perhaps foreign companies to consider - using Amazon services is effectively subsidising the US government's use. Perhaps if you disagree with torture, renditions CIA sodomy then you'll decide to just keep your stuff in a European cloud.
There are the other aspects of competition - Amazon is a store and various other things, perhaps if my product or service were to diminish Amazon's business then they could do a similar thing to my business and call upon a return of the favour they have just extended the US government in relation to wikileaks.ie use the US govt or courts to muscle me.
Really doesn't sound like a sound business proposition to me, definately not the cloud to have your head in.
Conversely it may be productive for US companies in on the game eh wink?
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I don't get it
That WL managed to snow the "lamestream media" is understandable since they just don't understand user generated (or user uploaded) content. But Techdirt knows better. There's a certain willingness to ignore salient facts in the WL case in order to cast some service providers (AWS being the top target) as villains, when the very openness of these turnkey solutions is used in other cases to explain why 3rd party providers should have no liability.
WL was never an AWS customer, in the sense that they never paid a bill. They wanted to buy AWS services, and AWS turned 'em done. That Sen. Lieberman was quick enough to make a politically advantageous yet effectively useless demand was luck on his part, as he now can falsely claim that he forced AWS to shut off WL. This is almost certainly a fraud, and I am honestly perplexed that Techdirt would perpetuate JL self-serving BS.
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Re: I don't get it
That the wikileaks.org domain now points through to a mirror site says it all. Once again, Julian manipulates the media for his own self-serving ends. After all, without great tales to tell, nobody will give you a 7 figure book deal.
Considering he is in the "modern media" isn't it a little weird that he is doing a book for retail? Shouldn't he just be writing it in a blog or a PDF and releasing it? Oh wait, there isn't any money in that!
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Re: Re: I don't get it
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Re: I don't get it
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Use of a 'cloud' service places your business at risk: if your service supplier is unhappy they can close down your business at short notice claiming a transgression of their terms of service and there is very little that you can do about it except spend a pile on lawyers ...
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Even if you go so far as being your own ISP provider, you still need to wheel and deal with other ISP providers to have access to anywhere outside your network.
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I know it's making me reconsider my own use of the platform for various projects.
Think for a minute. When Amazon was hosting wikileaks and getting pressure from certain corners because of it, everyone was wrong. When they were considering not using Amazon as a result, they were all wrong, stupid, and pig headed.
Now that Amazon mentions that the feds are their biggest client, you are considering not using Amazon as a result and you are right?
I wish you would hold yourself of to the same high standards you try to hold others to. You expect Amazon to somehow change their policy on Wikileaks to get you as a client, but they should not change to reflect the desires of other clients?
Arrogance in action!
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The point more is that once again, TD wants to have the ability to pressure companies by withdrawing their business, while at the same time mocking anyone on the other side of an issue who does the same. It is incredibly two faced, don't you think?
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Denial of Service
Oh, but it's all okay because they claim "Terms of Service" violation.
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amazon
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