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I disagree in part. The articles notes: > The settlement also obligates Facebook to pay $5 billion in civil penalties; that penalty is significantly larger tha

I disagree in part. The articles notes: > The settlement also obligates Facebook to pay $5 billion in civil penalties; that penalty is significantly larger than the next-closest penalty the FTC has ever won–which topped out at $22.5 million. With $5 billion, I believe we're within a factor of ten of the right fine, which isn't something I always believe about these settlements. Compared to e.g. Janet Jackson at the Superbowl, resulting in a fine of $27 thousand - $5 billion is at least a line on the spreadsheet.

antjanus 6y ago
That is a good point. We're getting closer to fines that actually hurt the companies enough not to do it again. Not there yet, but closer. The frustrating part is that they kept doing it even after they said they wouldn't. And FB amassed a sizeable revenue breaking a law while snuffing out competition, growing bigger, and reaping the benefits whilst still paying a fine that was essentially "worth it". I heard in a podcast the idea how the next "Facebook" can't do what FB did to grow -- because all that stuff is now regulated, closely watched, and fined.