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$60M seems a lot to normal people, but what if Google earned say $61M with that practice, therefore they were aware it would turn as a gain for them? I mean, th

$60M seems a lot to normal people, but what if Google earned say $61M with that practice, therefore they were aware it would turn as a gain for them? I mean, the penalty should be of course proportional to the offense, but prosecutors should also calculate in some way the benefits so the penalty works as a serious deterrent in the future. Also, part of the fee should be compensation for the users involved, even if that would be a few bucks, as it's important they're made aware that they were lied to and how, so they can develop more resistance to false advertising or mistreatment of their personal data in the future.

zulban 4y ago
Indeed. And even if they only earned $6.1M doing this, if they did something similar ten times but were only caught once then it's still worth it.
junofan 4y ago
Instead of more rules and bigger penalties on the books, what if the ad company and the phone company were separated? Then other phone companies could work with the ad company, while other ad companies could work with the phone company. Consumers would have more choice. I don’t believe one big entity selling phones and ads carefully regulated by government officials will lead to desirable outcomes in the long term.
- shadowgovt 4y ago
  The Australian government lacks the authority to do that without putting a level of onerous restraint on trade on a foreign company that could get them in trouble with the WTO. The United States government could, hypothetically, pass laws that recognize Google's gestalt of overlapping businesses as a new kind of monopoly and break it up. If you're American, there are some candidates interested in this and they aren't too hard to find.
harles 4y ago
In this particular case it’s estimated that 1.3m people viewed the screen. A fine of ~$60 / user seems pretty hefty and a good deterrent.

zulban 4y ago

Indeed. And even if they only earned $6.1M doing this, if they did something similar ten times but were only caught once then it's still worth it.

junofan 4y ago

Instead of more rules and bigger penalties on the books, what if the ad company and the phone company were separated? Then other phone companies could work with the ad company, while other ad companies could work with the phone company. Consumers would have more choice. I don’t believe one big entity selling phones and ads carefully regulated by government officials will lead to desirable outcomes in the long term.

shadowgovt 4y ago
The Australian government lacks the authority to do that without putting a level of onerous restraint on trade on a foreign company that could get them in trouble with the WTO. The United States government could, hypothetically, pass laws that recognize Google's gestalt of overlapping businesses as a new kind of monopoly and break it up. If you're American, there are some candidates interested in this and they aren't too hard to find.

harles 4y ago

In this particular case it’s estimated that 1.3m people viewed the screen. A fine of ~$60 / user seems pretty hefty and a good deterrent.