FaceBook to be Fined $5bn USD

[Guest]

Facebook 'to be fined $5bn over Cambridge Analytica scandal'

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-48972327

 

Quote

US regulators have approved a record $5bn (£4bn) fine on Facebook to settle an investigation into data privacy violations, reports in US media say. 

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has been investigating allegations that political consultancy Cambridge Analytica improperly obtained the data of up to 87 million Facebook users.

The settlement was approved by the FTC in a 3-2 vote, sources told US media.

Facebook and the FTC told the BBC they had no comment on the reports.

Pretty fair enough. About time someone took a tough stance to FaceBook. 

Quote

The consumer protection agency the FTC began investigating Facebook in March 2018 following reports that Cambridge Analytica had accessed the data of tens of millions of its users. 

The investigation focused on whether Facebook had violated a 2011 agreement under which it was required to clearly notify users and gain "express consent" to share their data.

The $5bn fine was approved by the FTC in a 3-2 vote which broke along party lines, with Republican commissioners in favour and Democrats opposed.

Don't want to make this political, so I won't. The Democrats wanted tougher action, so voted against - however seeing as this is the biggest tech fine ever imposed, its breaking ground into new territory all the same. 

Quote

"With the FTC either unable or unwilling to put in place reasonable guardrails to ensure that user privacy and data are protected, it's time for Congress to act," US Senator Mark Warner said.

The fine still needs to be finalised by the Justice Department's civil division, and it is unclear how long this may take, the sources said. 

If confirmed, it would be the largest fine ever levied by the FTC on a tech company.

However, the amount falls in line with estimates by Facebook, which earlier this year said it was expecting a fine of up to $5bn. 

Investors responded positively to the news, pushing Facebook shares up 1.8%.

Not sure how meeting an expected target for a fine would make people buy more shares. 

Quote

Facebook had been expecting this. It told investors back in April that it had put aside most of the money, which means the firm won't feel much added financial strain from this penalty. 

What we don't yet know is what additional measures may be placed on the company, such as increased privacy oversight, or if there will be any personal repercussions for the company's chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg.

The settlement, which amounts to around one quarter of the company's yearly profit, will reignite criticism from those who say this amounts to little more than a slap on the wrist.

$5bn not quite a slap on the wrist. Would be interesting to see the repercussions. Hopefully it's not just a 'slap on the wrist', and we will see increased privacy. Have to say its sad that FaceBook seems to be making so much off a free service that they can pay off a $5bn fine easily.

[Bananasplit_00]

i doubt FB are going to give much of a shit, probably just going to keep going like nothing happened.

 

would have loved to see further action and even tougher fines

[Tristerin]

Government: Lets fine them money and keep it!

Me: Why aren't my taxes going down by even a small margin?

[Zodiark1593]

For large tech firms such as Facebook, in DBZ terms (since there seems to be some recent resurgence in references), it's a bit like Krillin punching a fully powered Frieza. IE, this fine barely classifies as a poke, let alone a wrist slap.

[GOTSpectrum]

Personally I think fines for such breaches should be measured in years of profit, not months...

 

Has any other countries levied fines for this against Facebook? 

[Levent]

2 minutes ago, GOTSpectrum said:

Personally I think fines for such breaches should be measured in years of profit, not months...

 

Has any other countries levied fines for this against Facebook? 

FB and google are getting constantly fined, pretty sure germany fined them couple of times in the past.

[Master Disaster]

Facebook has a revenue of ~$50bn and an annual turnover of ~$15bn. This is chump change.

 

Also because the markets expected a more severe punishment this news sent Facebook stock value soaring and added $10bn to the companies net worth.

[ZestyJalapeno]

Huh, so that's what democracy is worth. You know those dudes that died at the Normandy beaches? Turns out their sacrifice does have an itemised price

[ravenshrike]

"With the FTC either unable or unwilling to put in place reasonable guardrails to ensure that user privacy and data are protected, it's time for Congress to act," US Senator Mark Warner said.

Congratulations dumbass, you've figured it out. Congress should not be delegating all its powers to the executive branch, especially since it bitches and whines whenever the executive branch does something it doesn't like with the powers granted to it by Congress.

[Sauron]

Good, not nearly enough though. FB must be broken up.

2 minutes ago, Dogeystyle said:

Huh, so that's what democracy is worth. You know those dudes that died at the Normandy beaches? Turns out their sacrifice does have an itemised price

What are you on? I want some

[Bouzoo]

This is not really a fine, but as the first sentence says, it's a settlement. Fb is gonna pay the amount and continue to sell your data as usual.

[elfensky]

2 hours ago, Tristerin said:

Government: Lets fine them money and keep it!

Me: Why aren't my taxes going down by even a small margin?

Because compared to America's GDP (19tril), 5bn is peanuts (1/3800 to be exact)? It's what the US army spends on a weekend

[ARikozuM]

Can we tax them in a way that makes my taxes go down? Will the 5B go to infrastructure like Flint, voting machine security, or protecting freedom of speech and privacy on the internet? 

 

No. No, it won't. 

[poochyena]

7 hours ago, floofer said:

US regulators

wow, AMERICANS regulators? These types of huge fines are normally handed down by european courts.

7 hours ago, Zodiark1593 said:

this fine barely classifies as a poke, let alone a wrist slap.

?????
Its literally 20% of their yearly profits

[Arika]

still not enough

[Tsuki]

36 minutes ago, poochyena said:

Its literally 20% of their yearly profits

companies of this size, have legal budgets set aside for stuff like this.  They have a stack of cash in an offshore account just waiting for them to get sued.  money will come from that. and realistically after everything, they will only have to pay a portion of that 5 billion. tax rebates and kickbacks will cover the rest.

 

This is barely a slap on the wrist, and just lets them know they can get away with more.

[JoostinOnline]

3 minutes ago, Tsuki said:

They have a stack of cash in an offshore account just waiting for them to get sued.

It's funny seeing completely speculative comments like this. You have no idea how Facebook operates (and neither do I), so stop pretending based on tropes.

[leadeater]

26 minutes ago, Arika S said:

still not enough

I'd like to see fines amount to more than a years profit, maybe 5 years for this. Fines don't work if they don't inflict enough pain.

[mr moose]

9 minutes ago, leadeater said:

I'd like to see fines amount to more than a years profit, maybe 5 years for this. Fines don't work if they don't inflict enough pain.

I find it insulting that if a company breaks the law and directly intrudes on the privacy and lives of others they get a fine that amounts to fractions of profit.  But if I build a shed in my own backyard that effects literally no one, I can get fined more than a years income (not just money after living expenses but whole income required for mortgages and food).

[poochyena]

35 minutes ago, Tsuki said:

companies of this size, have legal budgets set aside for stuff like this.  They have a stack of cash in an offshore account just waiting for them to get sued.  money will come from that. and realistically after everything, they will only have to pay a portion of that 5 billion. tax rebates and kickbacks will cover the rest.

 

This is barely a slap on the wrist, and just lets them know they can get away with more.

you are literally just making stuff up.

26 minutes ago, leadeater said:

I'd like to see fines amount to more than a years profit, maybe 5 years for this.

That would bankrupt the company, sending the stock market crashing, ruining the lives of tens of thousands of people.

 

12 minutes ago, mr moose said:

But if I build a shed in my own backyard that effects literally no one, I can get fined more than a years income

unless you are so poor you are living in that shed, then no, that doesn't happen.
Stop making stuff up.

[The Benjamins]

8 hours ago, Tristerin said:

Government: Lets fine them money and keep it!

Me: Why aren't my taxes going down by even a small margin?

there are 130~ million working Americans, if you took that 5 billion and gave it to all them as a tax break that would be $38 back for 2019's tax returns. 

A average american pays $14,000 in taxes, so that means it is a 0.2% savings on taxes this year.

 

Its just a drop in the bucket.

[mr moose]

4 minutes ago, poochyena said:

you are literally just making stuff up.

That would bankrupt the company, sending the stock market crashing, ruining the lives of tens of thousands of people.

 

unless you are so poor you are living in that shed, then no, that doesn't happen.
Stop making stuff up.

Stop calling people liars when you don't know jack shit about them or their experiences. Maximum fine applicable for building without a permit here is $80K+, the average household income is $50-60K.

 

You might also want to call me a liar for this, but it's also true, you can have a criminal conviction recorded against you for that building too,  I don't think anyone at face book is likely to have that.

 

Quote

Penalties for conducting work without a building permit under the Building Act 1993 can exceed $80,000 and also include the possibility of a criminal conviction.

https://www.mornpen.vic.gov.au/Building-Planning/Building/Building-Permits

 

[Trik'Stari]

8 hours ago, Tristerin said:

Government: Lets fine them money and keep it!

Me: Why aren't my taxes going down by even a small margin?

Probably because government is ALWAYS only concerned with things that benefit government.

 

Absolute power, corrupts absolutely.

[ARikozuM]

24 minutes ago, poochyena said:

you are literally just making stuff up.

That would bankrupt the company, sending the stock market crashing, ruining the lives of tens of thousands of people.

The stock market affects most Americans. Facebook's stock tanking would only affect heavy investors. 

[poochyena]

55 minutes ago, mr moose said:

Maximum fine applicable for building without a permit here is $80K+, the average household income is $50-60K. 

has that maximum fine ever been given to someone with an average income for building a shed? Maximum fines are very very very very very very rarely given out. Its not a basis for how much people are actually fined.

 

44 minutes ago, ARikozuM said:

Facebook's stock tanking would only affect heavy investors. 

It would affect every single person who owns fb shares, not just the heavy investors.