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Hacker News · securitypublished ()ingested YCmadeFlock

YC created Flock 10 years ago

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AI summary · glm-5.3-flash

A flagged Hacker News thread debates whether Y Combinator bears responsibility for surveillance company Flock's practices ten years after backing it.

The flagged Hacker News discussion titled 'YC created Flock 10 years ago' argues Y Combinator and Hacker News spread misleading narratives about Flock while governments banned the surveillance company. Commenters debated whether seed funding entails moral responsibility, noting YC typically lacks board seats or a controlling stake, while others raised concerns about centralized physical and digital ID systems. Some participants noted local governments that previously banned Flock are now cutting deals with the company.

  • Thread claims YC created Flock and HN spread disinformation about bans
  • Debate centers on VC moral responsibility versus limited board control
  • Some local governments that banned Flock are reportedly cutting deals with it
Read the original Hacker News · 55 points · 15 comments
OrganizationsY CombinatorFlockHacker News
CountriesUnited States
Tagsy-combinatorflocksurveillanceventure-capitalopinion
Full article289 words · extracted from news.ycombinator.com · click to collapse
[flagged] YC created Flock 10 years ago
60 points by YCmadeFlock 5 hours ago | hide | past | favorite | 15 comments

YC created the company and HN spread total disinformation and propaganda about it to us, blaming governments who actually banned it.

Some local governments have caved and are cutting deals with Flock now though, so it’s all bad.

YC and HN are at the center of it. It’s their company.

 help


YC funded Flock 10 years ago is even more accurate.

I get that Flock is now a pretty obnoxious company but it's hard to attribute that to YC.


You're missing the point. If YC only funded one baby murdering startup, would you really argue "they funded 6,201 non-baby murdering startups, stop making such a big deal out of it"?

The point is, even VC's should have some moral standards, and should not make pursuing profit more important than supporting mass surveillance (in violation of one of America's most important founding principles).


I hear VC funders have these things called "boards" that allow them to shape the companies they invest in.

(EDIT: and even when they don't, they own a major % of the company; that doesn't give them control, but it absolutely gives them a say in its future.)

In your scenario, the funders would be directly responsible (along with other investors) for growing the company in that direction ... again, for their own personal profit.


YC's seed round funding does not get them a seat on your board.

They also don't own anything close to a controlling stake.


I like how flock exists, but idea of centralized and controlled system of physical and digital ids used in Europe is somehow controversial. Maybe this is what cyberpunk was all about?


> HN spread total disinformation and propaganda about it to us, blaming governments who actually banned it

Source?

Text extracted automatically; images, tables and formatting may be missing. Original: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49627080