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> F.T.C. officials, who spent the past year investigating whether Facebook violated the 2011 agreement, are now weighing the sharing deals as they negotiate a p
by dustinmoris 8y ago
> F.T.C. officials, who spent the past year investigating whether Facebook violated the 2011 agreement, are now weighing the sharing deals as they negotiate a possible multibillion-dollar fine. That would be the largest such penalty ever imposed by the trade regulator.
A multibillion dollar fine? That's great, but even greater would be to put Facebook's exces behind bars. A CEO shouldn't walk away with a stuffed bank account after years of criminal offences, violating the privacy of millions of people all around the world and then not take any personal responsibility for it in front of our jurisdiction. The fine is attributed to Facebook, but there also needs to be a heft penalty for the people who ran Facebook and that is the executive team. Jail terms must be given. In the long term this will set an important precedent and detract possible future offenders!
- creaghpatr 8y agoWhich Facebook exec(s) would you put behind bars and for how long?
- Phlarp 8y agoZuck. 3-5 years at club fed.
- hodder 8y agoCharged with what specifically under what precedent? The USA is (supposedly) a nation of law. If Zuck broke an existing law with precedent for those kind of terms then that would make sense. If you are simply angry at legislators for not protecting you with adequate law, your issue is not with Zuck. You are simply angry at him. If you simply want him "made an example of", I hope you think of the repercussions to legal framework of the nation.
- drjesusphd 8y agoFacebook is an unprecedented company with unprecedented access to users' private information that committed an unprecedented breach of contract. There's no reason why a judge should rely on precedent.
- hodder 8y agoJudges use historical cases as guidance. To say there is no precedent is misguided. This would still be the case. More importantly, judges do not pass legislation. They adjudicate law.
- drjesusphd 8y agoCan you name a similar breach that happened in the past and was adjudicated by the court? If not, there is no judicial precedent, by definition.
- Phlarp 8y agoNot at all. The article says "criminal investigation" but after some cursory discussion of a grand jury and EDNY they pivot to talking about the FTC and civil punishment. I am not a lawyer, let alone a federal prosecutor. However, it does appear that actual federal prosecutors are suspicious enough that a crime took place to take it to a grand jury.
- navigatesol 8y ago>but even greater would be to put Facebook's exces behind bars. What is with this place wanting to throw everyone in prison? Is there some thrill you get from seeing executives in an orange jumper? Fines can be far more beneficial to society. Make them pay in a way that actually helps other people.
- tapoxi 8y agoBecause fines are rarely proportional to income, and are frequently written off as the cost of doing business.
- kareemsabri 8y agoschadenfreude
- dfxm12 8y agoFines can be far more beneficial to society. It's not an either/or. You can be sentenced with both a fine and jail time. Plus, I feel like the goal here should be stopping illegal activity (should this investigation find something, of course), and I think jail time would be more of a deterrent than a fine. Plus, we already have a system in place for corporations to benefit society from the earnings society lets them make: taxes.
- saiya-jin 8y ago> Fines can be far more beneficial to society. Make them pay in a way that actually helps other people. Yes and no. If the only motivation for breaking the law is that your employer might potentially get a questionable fine in distant future, many of those sociopaths couldn't care less and cash in bonuses next year. Nobody of those folks plans their corporate careers in a 'I will build my position in this company steadily over next 5-10 years', they jump ships often if better offer comes along. Yes some stay, but they are rather an exception. Not all execs are hardcore sociopaths, but again they are exceptions. Now if we would include massive personal fines and appropriate jail time (which can be huge if you do some big fraud in person and not as part of some massive corporate hierarchy), that would affect some of those decisions. Not all, but it would definitely be a net gain for mankind.
- 8y ago
- hodder 8y agoWhat specific charges can be filed against him? What laws have Facebook broken? I suspect FB have broken many laws but perhaps the country simply has inadequate consumer protection. Advocating for jail terms without specific charges is not the direction to go.
- dfxm12 8y agoWhat laws have Facebook broken? The article very clearly states that there is a criminal investigation going on.
- hodder 8y agoRight. So people in the thread advocating 3-5 years of prison for someone who hasn't even been charged with a crime is outrageous.
- AlexandrB 8y ago> So people in the thread advocating 3-5 years of prison for someone who hasn't even been charged with a crime is outrageous. I don't see how its outrageous. We're (probably) not judges and we're not likely to be on the jury either. This kind of "I hope he goes to jail for a million years" posturing is quite common when people discuss any sort of criminal behaviour. Is it beneficial or just? Perhaps not. But it's so natural that calling it "outrageous" is quite a reach.