This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.
A fine is the cost of doing business. Unless something changes they’ll keep doing it.
It's just the government's cut since they don't pay much in taxes.
And it isn't like the victims see any of it
The linked Reuters article provides a bit more context:
The jury agreed with the plaintiffs that Alphabet's Google (GOOGL.O), was liable for sending and receiving information from the devices without permission while they were idle, causing what the lawsuit had called "mandatory and unavoidable burdens shouldered by Android device users for Google's benefit."
[…]
Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda said in a statement that the company would appeal, and that the verdict "misunderstands services that are critical to the security, performance, and reliability of Android devices."
opens new tab
the verdict "misunderstands services that are critical to the security, performance, and reliability of Android devices."
Ummmm maybe I’m misunderstanding but how on earth is opening a new tab critical to security and performance?
I think that's just part of the label of a link to Google's stock ticker
Yes, indeed this was just a copy error. Thanks for pointing it out.
Don’t we ban Chinese phones for the same actions?
China bad.
laughs in GrapheneOS
cries in cheap phone that doesn't flash GrapheneOS
Years ago, when this policy was first being contemplated, someone at google plugged a number, likely larger than this, into a spreadsheet analyzing the cost/benefit of spying on their customers.
This is just post-activation operating expense from their perspective.
Google made 100 billion last year.
300 million is barely a blip.
The fine should have been 30 billion.
if the fines arent big enough to seriously hurt a company, Then the fines are not big enough to change their behavior.
They just become a tax on evil.
If you earn like 100k a year its like being slapped with a 300 $ fine just to put it into perspective.
100k AFTER all your expenses.
They should definitely be higher than what they are, even the GDPR fines are a joke, its likely added to a line "legal expenses" in their expenses.
While it looks like the EU fines are ramping up over time, it still just feels silly right now. But I guess that is intentional.
Alt text: a screenshot from final fantasy tactics with a character saying: “If the penalty for a crime is a fine, then that law only exists for the lower class.”
That's actually shopped. The game's writer said he wishes he wrote that line, though.
Assuming the fine isn't progressive, of course.
Over here in Finland fines for any but the minor offences are defined in percents of income, not in fixed sums of money. There have been cases of traffic fines of several hundreds of thousands for going 30 km/h over the speed limit. That makes them a punishment for very richest people as well, not only for the lower class.
Except capital income can be hidden in other countries, still giving an unfair advantage to the super rich.
Google in 2024: Net profit: $100 billion
The government: "here is a tiny fine that you can't even see in a microscope."
I agree, but one thing that people always miss with these kinds of rulings is that they generally come with increased oversight and greater fines for repeat offenses. They're more likely to be caught if they try it again, and it'll grow until it actually hurts.
Still, this should be a lot larger. They should be trying to dissuade first-time offenses as well, not letting them take advantage of the system for profit because it won't hurt much when they're found out.
In theory, yes, but governments won't do that. They worry that corporations would leave their states and they lose on employment and tax revenue. That's why they fine them very carefully to begin with.
If you're talking about the first paragraph, then no, that's literally what they do.
That does nothing to help anyone hurt by the actions.
Hey, they're gonna get their $2.97 checks. That's a gallon of gas somewhere.
I don't chase dropped pennies, and I don't think google does either!
That’s a rounding error for them.
A pi in the face
So small it’s almost imaginary
That's 1/85 of the watch that Ramzan Kadyrov's son sported on his wedding.
Or one can just compare it to the share of Google's profits in California.
So of the billions they made with that they have to pay a small fee.
Oh noes
Jail them!
Jail them!
In prison gen pop. Make execs afraid to break the law for profit and/or fund reform for the prison system.
Break the law and pay 0.014% of your market cap, or 0.31% of their 2024 profit.
Doesn't sound like the suit was about the collection at all and just about the data transmission costing users mobile data usage.
Vague articles are vague.
So when are we all finally going to ditch Google/Apple and move on to actual FOSS phones like Librem5 or Fairphone?
When Librem stops sucking ass and Fairphone stops being just as bad as any other Android phone in terms of integrating Google services and allowing data collection
When they are good.
Another problem I have is multifactor apps. Can I get duo on a Linux phone? Or banking apps? Some software sends notifications to the phone to log in on a computer, for example.
I'm sure I could get around it, but ultimately I just want a good camera.
Yeah, I need to know that Microsoft authenticator, duo mobile, all banking and trading apps, Venmo, and steam guard work on Linux. I know a lot of banking apps do, but if duo mobile doesn't, I'm locked out of my work.
Which one allows me to actually control my phone and reject all the updates?
