Facebook to Be Fined $5 Billion in Cambridge Analytica Privacy Scandal

[nad8e]

Apple should have opened iCloud photos so that it becomes a built-in Facebook competitor. It also needs to be faster to download/sync photos.

Have always wanted to see Apple integrate Photos Albums, iMessage, Find My Friends, etc, into a more unified access point that would include a feed... package it together in an app that would run on other devices. I guess there isn't enough return in it.

And the Google+ attempt at social media totally failed.

 

[doitdada]

Nothing. But the people themselves... They’re probably still on Facebook not giving a **** about their privacy.

Like 2.38 billion each worth at least 600 dollars each. Around 1.5 trillion dollars

 

[VulchR]

Have always wanted to see Apple integrate Photos Albums, iMessage, Find My Friends, etc, into a more unified access point that would include a feed... package it together in an app that would run on other devices. I guess there isn't enough return in it.

And the Google+ attempt at social media totally failed.

Maybe if Apple emphasised privacy? Facebook is such a bloated mess - I would have no issues abandoning it.

 

[4jasontv]

Would have been much more fun if the fine would be per user... and in that case I mean that FB needs to pay like 10$ to each one of its users.

No. When the music industry went after their own fans the courts allowed the labels to decide what their losses were. How is this any different? You steal my IP and I will decide unilaterally what it is worth. Then you pay me a multiple of that to discourage you from doing it again.

Also, I don't think this is a fine the company should pay directly. Make the company pay this and than require the executives pay them back. How about $5 billion per executive and anything they can't pay they can earn stamping licence plates at a rate of $0.09 cents per plate.

And yes, I assume anyone in a position of power was aware of this. If their high-risk high-pay job means anything than they are accountable for driving revenue and commuting crimes. Maybe this will drive organizations to really embrace a "don't be evil" culture.

 

[stylinexpat]

US$5 billion is a LOT of money for Facebook to be fined. That represents a good fraction of their liquid asset holdings. Facebook isn't Apple with its US$250 billion-plus liquid asset hoard.

Sooner or later this will have to reflect upon the price of Facebook's stock price.

 

[Glockworkorange]

Good news. FB needs to die in the long run.
Hate to be on insta, but I try to use it rarely.

Should have been more than 5 billion.

I mean, if we want to stop this kind of behavior, we have to make it hurt.
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Will this open up some more people’s eyes? I hope but I doubt...

I think that's the real problem. Most people just don't care. They don't see how it affects them.

 

[farewelwilliams]

"saw" as in past tense....

Good news that everyone expected is priced in long before -> hence not news at all
Bad news that everyone expected is priced in long before -> hence not news at all

Bad news that everyone thought would be worse -> kinda good news

that was exactly what i was saying. the fine isn't enough to bring down the price because wall street was calculating a higher fine.

 

[Gasu E.]

so tens of millions of FB users got their privacy robbed and then the Govt pockets $5 Billion because of it

Go ahead; start a class action suit. No one is stopping you.

Meanwhile, this is a fine. All governments— state, federal, local— assess fines to punish lawbreakers where prison seems inappropriate. And yes, it does provide government revenue, as an alternative to more taxes. So, you prefer less fines and more taxes? Alrighty, then.

 

[LizKat]

Maybe if Apple emphasised privacy? Facebook is such a bloated mess - I would have no issues abandoning it.

Yah but we probably shouldn't look to Apple for a social media equivalent with "more privacy". They just got around to responding to feedback from some users that iTunes was a bloated mess... so they finally deconstructed it, ripping out the App Store and shoving audiobooks over to Books and so forth, and have then caught flak for all that as well. They're probably holed up in a retreat now somewhere trying to figure out if it can ever work out well for them PR-wise to produce another multi-functional application, or if it's enough just to advertise how well their individual apps work inside Apple's ecosystem.

 

[KGBguy]

And Facebook can continue doing what they’ve been doing since they just need to pay some fines. It will be just written off as a business expense in the accounting book.

Yep! As long as they get their money they don’t care what else is going on.

 

[stylinexpat]

They can sue. Good chance with this settlement, Facebook would probably settle. OK, say about another $5B tops. Say lawyers take 30% (yes, they’ll take more but just say 30% for the sake of argument).
That leaves $3.5B to be shared out to affected users.

Facebook say 87 million people were affected. Everyone gets about $40.

Why didn't the government make Facebook pay each user $40? Are the people the victims or is the government the victim here? When people are victims the government profits. Sounds like a no brainer win for the government.

 

[LizKat]

Why didn't the government make Facebook pay each user $40? Are the people the victims or is the government the victim here? When people are victims the government profits. Sounds like a no brainer win for the government.

Swapping a fine payable to the US Treasury for payments to victims? Probably could incentivize some future fraudulent behavior inside a company to see if they could get the government to hand out free money to their customers as an advance,,,, if the company just harassed their customers a tiny bit more than the government might find acceptable, etc. Yeah I have become something of a cynic...

 

[iPhysicist]

Honest Question, Do they need to die, or do they need to be more transparent and accountable?
Maybe it is time the Gov't finds people personal information as important as it finds their financials. Maybe it is time for any organization housing significant personal data to get slapped with analogous regulations as the gov't puts on the financial industry. I'd worry that if FB/G/others "died" that we have no guarantee that what replaces them would be any better unless there is a legal reason for existing/future organizations to be better stewards of information then no one will be incentivized to do so. Apple can (as far as we know) be a bit better steward of our information but that's because they are in a different business, they make money on their devices and services not as much from your personal data. If FB/G die then the only chance outside of new regs that would be better in the future, would be to hope that all other business use the same business model. I'm not sure we can bet on that.

Social Media needs to die. It’s a cancer like problem that makes most people involved ill in some way - because you have to be prettier, wealthier, cooler etc-ier than the others just to be cool enough. It’s puberty school problems continued for a lot of people because not everyone is cool with him/herself. The data collection problem is another big topic but this could be regulated. If not by law then by the people. I do not like googles data policy and facebook is even worse for that matter and therefore try to avoid those data-miners as often as possible. I vote with my click and hope other do too.

 

[justperry]

Great. Now it's about time somebody fine the U.S. government for their "treatment of user privacy" and spying on the rest of the world.

A similarly proportioned fine to Facebook's (fine/yearly revenue) should be par for the course.

Haha, good one.

 

[imom]

It will be used to build more cages to house brown children after they are permanently separated from their parents.

All criminals are separated from their children when they're caught. How is this any different?

 

[apolloa]

Why didn't the government make Facebook pay each user $40? Are the people the victims or is the government the victim here? When people are victims the government profits. Sounds like a no brainer win for the government.

Because Facebook sells EVERYONES data no matter which country you live in, this fine was because they broke privacy laws but if you going to think like that, they they would need to pay every single Facebook user globally to have any meaning. And it would also have to be a much much higher payout.

Their will be no more action against Facebook guaranteed, it’s called capitalism and global markets and they are all worried about what would happen if they fined them 50% if their profits. Which is what they should be doing...

Look at the news the FTC approves the fine! Like what the hell does it have to do with them? Simple they are thinking global capitalist markets and money money money money money money....

This is STILL the ONLY thing that man truly cares about.

The other alternative would be to throw the hosts of Facebook including Zuckerberg into jail, but that will never happen either as I’m sure they have friends in very high places to protect themselves......


And don’t go thinking Apple can save you for one minute, Facebook have been selling your data and using it for targeted advertising since day one! And yet Apple FULLY integrated Facebook and Twitter into iOS. They full well knew what FB were doing unless their really stupid.
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Nothing. But the people themselves... They’re probably still on Facebook not giving a **** about their privacy.

Yeap my brother in law uses it daily, yet he questions me for having an Alexa device which he ‘believes’ listens to every single thing it hears and records it.... yeah right.
Last time I checked Amazon doesn’t do that and I don’t care if someone hears what I tell it to do, and Amazon don’t sell your data for targeted advertising as they get their money elsewhere..
But then he will happily carry on using Facebook putting all his kids photos up, which Facebook will then sell on...

Another thing that winds me up is both my sister and brother in law, the WHOLE family have iPhones! Yet they INSIST on using bloody Wattsapp! So I have to use it to get any text from them, a stupid messaging system now owned by Facebook and far far inferior to iMessage yet they insist on using it...
They send photos through it and I do tell them you know that’s a lower quality photo then what iMessage sends right?

Some people are just idiots..

 

[rodpascoe]

Spoken like an addict.

Think we should roll back any regulation on cigarettes? Think tobacco companies shouldn’t have been punished for lying about health hazards? Many people don’t like these “attacks” on tobacco industry and buyers, and not for any other reason than how it affects their own addiction.

Are you seriously trying to draw a parallel between nicotine addiction and using Facebook? Good grief.

I just took a three week vacation and didn’t use Facebook once. Was I sweating, agitated and all the other classic signs of affirmation? Of course not.

20 years ago I gave up smoking, trust me, there are no parallels.

 

[Lesser Evets]

Wait until the lawsuit gets going for what FB is doing today about fostering violence.

Lawyers are slavering unlike any time in history.

 

[pika2000]

Have always wanted to see Apple integrate Photos Albums, iMessage, Find My Friends, etc, into a more unified access point that would include a feed... package it together in an app that would run on other devices. I guess there isn't enough return in it.

And the Google+ attempt at social media totally failed.

For something revolving photos, iCloud Photos already offer shared album, where participants can share, like, and comment on photos.

People are using Facebook simply because they are used to it, and most people don't want to re-learn anything new (unless there's a major shift in userbase).

 

[satcomer]

What will that $5B now support?

Roads PLEASE!

 

[0924487]

Isn’t that another form of tax? Cost is on us, compensation went to the IRS.

 

[-BigMac-]

What interests me, the affected Facebook users that are NOT in the USA.

They get nothing, their government gets nothing... is the US government the only entity who benefits from this decision?

 

[justperry]

What interests me, the affected Facebook users that are NOT in the USA.

They get nothing, their government gets nothing... is the US government the only entity who benefits from this decision?

EU fine will be next, still not anywhere near to the rest of the world.
Facebook should be fined in lots of countries, fact is though that the minority of countries don’t have laws to fine them.

 

[pankajdoharey]

Very nice, Good News!

 

[sir1963nz]

Add another zero to the fine and maybe FB will take notice.

N ope, there are only going to be 2 things that will make Multinationals sit up and take note
1. Serious prison time for senior management/board of directors
2. A Fine of 10% of the shares held by the top 100 share holders, that 10 % has influence AND the ability to sue the **** out of the board of directors.
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So tens of thousands of people should lose their jobs and millions of people like myself who like and use Facebook should suffer because you don’t like it? Makes sense.

No,
Facebook should die because it's little better than a criminal organisation.
Facebook should die because it will draw a line in the sand about acceptable behaviour
Facebook should die because it will allow other more ethical companies to take its place

Tens of thousands are employed in the illegal drugs trade, and millions enjoy using the product, but it too still needs to die.