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If Facebook admits wrongdoing they will lose every lawsuit brought against them going forward, which means they will contest the charges instead of settling. Th
by esoterica 8y ago
If Facebook admits wrongdoing they will lose every lawsuit brought against them going forward, which means they will contest the charges instead of settling. The FTC doesn’t want that, because an actual court case means they might lose, which would be bad for the careers of everyone involved. They’d rather just take the guaranteed W by offering FB a palatable settlement.
- munk-a 8y agoThis is a perfectly rationale terrible explanation - it absolutely makes sense, but there's a real problem if we allow decision making like this to be accepted at large. Some cases might be lost, but companies that violate our privacy should actually pay for it.
- taurath 8y agoTaking a bribe shouldn't be the best outcome for all involved.
- rhizome 8y agoThat's not a W, though. It's playing to a tie, then forfeiting the rest of the game. Naturally, I would love for this to go to trial. Even if the FTC lost, at least we'd know what the consumer privacy landscape in the US actually looks like. The title of this post/story, should be "Facebook Expects to be Fined Not More Than $5B by FTC," because a $5B fine would be extremely not-painful; there would be zero deterrent effect from a fine of this size.