What a long text! Interesting to read, lots of politics and other comments to be done.
But not here. Allow me to highlight a couple of phrases below.
If the management don't listen to people working for the company,
if managment believes that live in a throne from where they rule
will they ever step down their pink or dollar green clouds and listen to products? (us?)

�People feel management doesn�t listen to them,� a current employee said,

+

�The beauty of where we live and where we work is that we�re free to make those choices,� Pavlovsky

Just one question before I go edit some more Crapstock or do something productive around here.

"Shutterstock regularly receives takedown notices from more than 20 countries, not including requests related to intellectual property, spokeswoman Hughes said. The countries are primarily in Europe, Australia, North America and some in South America and the company addresses hundreds or sometimes thousands of requests a year." quoted from the NBC article.

North America includes:

United States, Bermuda, St. Pierre and Miquelon, Canada and Greenland.

Who of those are asking for content takedown? Why? Are they getting them?

The Yen is mightier than the pen.

"Shutterstock�s road to China began around 2014, when the company struck a deal with the Chinese social network ZCool Network Technology to exclusively distribute Shutterstock images. It was a foothold in a potentially huge market, and Shutterstock invested $15 million in ZCool in 2018."

Exclusive?

Additional: Getty Images... also distributes material in China through a local partner company, VCG. A search of VCG for �Taiwan flag� produces zero results. Adobe Stock... is available in China, and a search on its site in China by NBC News also found zero results for �Taiwan flag.�

"Shutterstock regularly receives take down notices from more than 20 countries, not including requests related to intellectual property, spokeswoman Hughes said. The countries are primarily in Europe, Australia, North America and some in South America and the company addresses hundreds or sometimes thousands of requests a year."

Pavlovsky �... employees have a lot of opportunities to work here, to work elsewhere, and we are very supportive when employees do not feel that this is the right place for them, to pursue other opportunities.� I think he's as transparent and honest as any of them asked for.

Pavlovski is right. A private company is not a democracy.
Besides, the first amendment is preventing Congress from restricting the freedom of speech, not private companies.

Quote from: Uncle Pete on February 28, 2020, 08:38

The Yen is mightier than the pen.

"Shutterstock�s road to China began around 2014, when the company struck a deal with the Chinese social network ZCool Network Technology to exclusively distribute Shutterstock images. It was a foothold in a potentially huge market, and Shutterstock invested $15 million in ZCool in 2018."

Exclusive?

Additional: Getty Images... also distributes material in China through a local partner company, VCG. A search of VCG for �Taiwan flag� produces zero results. Adobe Stock... is available in China, and a search on its site in China by NBC News also found zero results for �Taiwan flag.�

"Shutterstock regularly receives take down notices from more than 20 countries, not including requests related to intellectual property, spokeswoman Hughes said. The countries are primarily in Europe, Australia, North America and some in South America and the company addresses hundreds or sometimes thousands of requests a year."

Pavlovsky �... employees have a lot of opportunities to work here, to work elsewhere, and we are very supportive when employees do not feel that this is the right place for them, to pursue other opportunities.� I think he's as transparent and honest as any of them asked for.

Pavlovski is right. A private company is not a democracy.
Besides, the first amendment is preventing Congress from restricting the freedom of speech, not private companies.

Bayer/IG Farben was a private company too

Big market for gas wasn't there?

These companies enable undemocratic governments by their collusion and silence.

These companies enable undemocratic governments by their collusion and silence.

They will care about the status of democracy elsewhere if their customers care. So far, I doubt that too many SS customers care about how SS is doing business with China.
First and foremost, customers want lower prices and probably good quality for that price.
Very few are ready to pay more for the sake of a principle.  As long as customers are not ready to change their attitude, why is someone expecting a private company to act differently?

Visual China Group has the means and motivation (political desire to control media) to buy Shutterstock.   Perhaps Mr. Oringer stepped aside in preparation for a sale or merger. 

I prefer to file the foregoing under silly speculation... but stranger things have happened. 

Quote from: Bad Robot on February 28, 2020, 12:01

Quote from: Zero Talent on February 28, 2020, 11:45

Quote from: Bad Robot on February 28, 2020, 11:13

These companies enable undemocratic governments by their collusion and silence.

They will care about the status of democracy elsewhere if their customers care. So far, I doubt that too many SS customers care about how SS is doing business with China.
First and foremost, customers want lower prices and probably good quality for that price.
Very few are ready to pay more for the sake of a principle.  As long as customers are not ready to change their attitude, why is someone expecting a private company to act differently?

IG Farben's customers didn't want to change their attitude either and IG Farben were happy to use the "cheap" labour.

Neither did Union Carbide at Bopal, Monsanto and Agent Orange,

Or for that matter Exxon Shipping Company and the Exxon Valdez, BP and the Deepwater Horizon, Ford and the Edsel, Tobacco companies? and so on....

So I guess in your world thats just fine:

Not sure I see the connection. What do you propose? Do you want SS to stop doing business with China?

Before you ask a private entity to follow a principle, just stop and think: are you applying the same principle to your personal life?
How many products made in China do you own? You might be wearing one at this very moment.

But I know: talk is cheap and putting one's money where one's mouth is, is a principle very seldom applied in practice.

Yes I do actually and Nestle to boot and in a previous job I also refused to push work to China contrary to the group think in Wisconsin HQ which fell over themselves to take work from local companies to the Chinese for a few lousy bucks.

I dislike any dealings with the Chinese system and would not support them or their current bullying of South East Asia in the China Sea as well as their appalling conduct over Tibet.

So go suck eggs 

Just one question before I go edit some more Crapstock or do something productive around here.

"Shutterstock regularly receives takedown notices from more than 20 countries, not including requests related to intellectual property, spokeswoman Hughes said. The countries are primarily in Europe, Australia, North America and some in South America and the company addresses hundreds or sometimes thousands of requests a year." quoted from the NBC article.

North America includes:

United States, Bermuda, St. Pierre and Miquelon, Canada and Greenland.

Who of those are asking for content takedown? Why? Are they getting them?

I can only imagine takedowns for "politically incorrect" media. Political groups these days are naive.

Quote from: Bad Robot on February 28, 2020, 12:51

Quote from: Zero Talent on February 28, 2020, 12:20

Quote from: Bad Robot on February 28, 2020, 12:01

Quote from: Zero Talent on February 28, 2020, 11:45

Quote from: Bad Robot on February 28, 2020, 11:13

These companies enable undemocratic governments by their collusion and silence.

They will care about the status of democracy elsewhere if their customers care. So far, I doubt that too many SS customers care about how SS is doing business with China.
First and foremost, customers want lower prices and probably good quality for that price.
Very few are ready to pay more for the sake of a principle.  As long as customers are not ready to change their attitude, why is someone expecting a private company to act differently?

IG Farben's customers didn't want to change their attitude either and IG Farben were happy to use the "cheap" labour.

Neither did Union Carbide at Bopal, Monsanto and Agent Orange,

Or for that matter Exxon Shipping Company and the Exxon Valdez, BP and the Deepwater Horizon, Ford and the Edsel, Tobacco companies? and so on....

So I guess in your world thats just fine:

Not sure I see the connection. What do you propose? Do you want SS to stop doing business with China?

Before you ask a private entity to follow a principle, just stop and think: are you applying the same principle to your personal life?
How many products made in China do you own? You might be wearing one at this very moment.

But I know: talk is cheap and putting one's money where one's mouth is, is a principle very seldom applied in practice.

Yes I do actually and Nestle to boot and in a previous job I also refused to push work to China contrary to the group think in Wisconsin HQ which fell over themselves to take work from local companies to the Chinese for a few lousy bucks.

I dislike any dealings with the Chinese system and would not support them or their current bullying of South East Asia in the China Sea as well as their appalling conduct over Tibet.

So go suck eggs 

I understand that. You dislike only when others do business with China.
When it comes to you, the human Bad Robot, you don't dislike those dealings anymore.
Because you forgot to answer: did you count how many Chinese made products you have on you or around your house in this very moment?

As I said: talk is cheap. 

I can't argue with such poor logic I think I made it quite clear in my statement above. 

But if it pleases you I don't have to check as I look for where something is made before I make the purchase.

You really do like trolling you're blocked thank you for the diatribe

But if it pleases you I don't have to check as I look for where something is made before I make the purchase.

Unless the rules are very different in your country, that would be a full-time job. Here in the UK, something could have components and parts of components, and source materials from many different countries but only the country of the final assembly counts as 'made in X'. Companies don't have to provide that info on their website, and they may only know where their components come from, but not the source of the parts of the components or the raw ingredients. Also these can easily change during the lifetime of a product. I was surprised recently when I bought six spoons  to make up a cutlery set I'd already bought, that the 'made in 'X' in the pieces I had was now 'made in Y'. So by the time you had micro-researched something like a computer, the info you got at the start of the trail could easily have changed.
I know I'm a professional cynic, but be assured that "a cynic is only a disappointed optimist" - I've 'boycotted' various things in my time South African goods (mainly fruit) during apartheid, Nestl� over many years, but I certainly hadn't thought of the bigger picture.

Quote from: Bad Robot on February 28, 2020, 16:21

You really do like trolling you're blocked thank you for the diatribe

the guy doesnt agree with you., so you throw your toys out of the buggy, call him a troll and block him,  if you cant deal with opinions other than yours,internet forums are probably not the right medium for you

Robots (and hips) don't lie!!!