4 ms·

We have a maximum amount you can fine a company. It's "10% of the total turnover in the preceding business year of the undertaking". So whether it's worth break

We have a maximum amount you can fine a company. It's "10% of the total turnover in the preceding business year of the undertaking". So whether it's worth breaking the law becomes a simple napkin calculation. (Source: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:52006XC0901(01)&from=EN http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELE...)

kbart 9y ago
Well yes, but that's only a fine, I'm sure there are other legal means (i.e. voiding business license) for those who refuse to comply with a law continuously.
- pm90 9y ago
  How would that work with a company like Qualcomm, that doesn't sell directly to consumers, and whose products are embedded in devices manufactured outside the EU? Technically, wouldn't it only be doing business with Apple?
  - oh_sigh 9y ago
    Revoke the EU certification for the specific devices they manufacture
- hrktb 9y ago
  How it went down with Microsoft was cumulative fines as time goes. I wondered what the ultimate reason was for Microsoft to bow down and apply the required changes to windows, but I imagine being labeled as a recurent law breaking business might have a lot of side effects. At a very small scale, I knew engineers that didn’t want to apply for MS jobs because of that. I wonder if individual states or other regulation agency also would change their stance regarding a company once behavior change requested by the EU are ignored on a regular basis.
gpm 9y ago
How often can they apply a fine of that amount? If they can apply it yearly, they can fine 2.2 billion per year, which is over a third of Qualcomm's 5.3 billion per year profit. Sure it's a simple napkin calculation, but as long as the napkin calculation comes out to "not worth it" that's fine. Source for numbers: http://markets.businessinsider.com/stock/QCOM/financials http://markets.businessinsider.com/stock/QCOM/financials

kbart 9y ago

Well yes, but that's only a fine, I'm sure there are other legal means (i.e. voiding business license) for those who refuse to comply with a law continuously.

pm90 9y ago
How would that work with a company like Qualcomm, that doesn't sell directly to consumers, and whose products are embedded in devices manufactured outside the EU? Technically, wouldn't it only be doing business with Apple?
- oh_sigh 9y ago
  Revoke the EU certification for the specific devices they manufacture
hrktb 9y ago
How it went down with Microsoft was cumulative fines as time goes. I wondered what the ultimate reason was for Microsoft to bow down and apply the required changes to windows, but I imagine being labeled as a recurent law breaking business might have a lot of side effects. At a very small scale, I knew engineers that didn’t want to apply for MS jobs because of that. I wonder if individual states or other regulation agency also would change their stance regarding a company once behavior change requested by the EU are ignored on a regular basis.

gpm 9y ago

How often can they apply a fine of that amount? If they can apply it yearly, they can fine 2.2 billion per year, which is over a third of Qualcomm's 5.3 billion per year profit. Sure it's a simple napkin calculation, but as long as the napkin calculation comes out to "not worth it" that's fine. Source for numbers: http://markets.businessinsider.com/stock/QCOM/financials http://markets.businessinsider.com/stock/QCOM/financials