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The amount is not the point. It's the fact that they were fined. Shareholders tend to be unhappy with "We were fined for doing this, and so we kept doing it an
by ethbr1 3y ago
The amount is not the point. It's the fact that they were fined.
Shareholders tend to be unhappy with "We were fined for doing this, and so we kept doing it and now owe another fine."
Also, exec bodies/courts/juries tend to be more skeptical of an ignorance defense if a company was literally fined for doing that exact thing previously.
- dangus 3y agoShareholders don’t care about that. “We were fined $20 million for something that makes us $200 million” is a no brainer choice to a shareholder. And the probability of getting that fine imposed is far less than 1. https://www.npr.org/2024/04/01/1197963517/dupont-chemours-chemicals-cows https://www.npr.org/2024/04/01/1197963517/dupont-chemours-ch...
- r00fus 3y agoWhat if the pitch were "we made $10x selling this data and were fined $x" - seems quite compelling if you're amoral about it.
- teh_infallible 3y agoThis is a bribe masquerading as a fine.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- NickC25 3y agoShareholders also don't care if the behavior continues so long as the profits from the behavior continue to vastly outweigh the cost of the activity in question. If the fine is $ABC, and that fine never changes, but profits grow from $ABC x3 to $ABC x10, shareholders will actually get mad that the corporation doesn't continue the activity in question because there's net profit growth. Sadly, sometimes the cost of quelling an FCC or SEC violation charge is simple "lobbying".
- ethbr1 3y agoThe business community seems pretty upset by the penalties the SEC has been levying lately... https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/the-supreme-court-should-curb-the-secs-excessive-penalties https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/the-supreme-court-... (The Supreme Court declined to hear the case)
- dchftcs 3y agoTo be fair, they are not mutually exclusive. Businesses are incentivized to fight penalties as long as they think the legal costs are small enough compared to the fines themselves, regardless whether the activity their fine on was still profitable after the fine.
- genocidicbunny 3y ago> Shareholders tend to be unhappy with "We were fined for doing this, and so we kept doing it and now owe another fine." Only if the fine exceeds what they made. Otherwise, shareholders tend to more side with the "try to keep that shit on the down low next time eh?" approach when they're still making money.
- pavon 3y ago> that exact thing previously. Yes, it stops them from doing that exact same thing again while incentivizing the general behavior of intentionally breaking laws until told to stop.