Revenue is the wrong metric for this type of comparison. Last I heard even big tech didn’t have a profit margin of 100%.
Big Tech has already made enough money in 2024 to pay all its 2023 fines
Submitted 10 months ago by Rozauhtuno@lemmy.blahaj.zone to technology@beehaw.org
https://proton.me/blog/big-tech-2023-fines-vs-revenue
Comments
BlueBockser@programming.dev 10 months ago
Radiant_sir_radiant@beehaw.org 10 months ago
I don’t know, a percentage of revenue hurts more than the same percentage of net profit. Maybe some companies need to be forced to operate at a net loss until they clean up their act.
BlueBockser@programming.dev 10 months ago
I’m not arguing about the fines themselves, those can indeed be scaled by revenue. I also agree that many fines should be higher to prevent companies from merely seeing them as an operating cost.
However, my point is that company revenue can’t be used 1:1 to pay off fines. That doesn’t take into account that revenue also has to cover all other operating expenses and taxes. As an example, the article states that Meta would take roughly 5½ days to pay off its fines, but taking the 23.42% profit margin into account a more realistic answer is 23½ days.
Lightrider@lemmynsfw.com 10 months ago
Defeat the fuckingcapitalists
DdCno1@beehaw.org 10 months ago
Who would take their place?
NattyNatty2x4@beehaw.org 10 months ago
Ideally? Something like worker cooperatives or similar where profit and decision-making is more democratically spread through businesses.
Realistically? Probably capitalists by another name
onlinepersona@programming.dev 10 months ago
They thank you very much for purchasing their goods. Good job everybody! We did it!
PaddleMaster@beehaw.org 10 months ago
Gross. Can we start making fines meaningful? % of revenue maybe? I’m not an expert on this. But these fines should be more than enough to discourage behavior and not be “cost of doing business”.
Radiant_sir_radiant@beehaw.org 10 months ago
The EU knows fines of ‘up to’ 4% of revenue for privacy violations, which means the company still gets to keep 96% of whatever it’s made by breaking the law. The fine should be a minimum of 50%, plus jail time for the managers responsible. Any fine that does not make the shareholders cry with fury is too low and will do nothing to change the situation.
B0rax@feddit.de 10 months ago
No, they don’t get to keep 96%. It is revenue, not profit. That is a big difference.
explodicle@local106.com 10 months ago
We need a total revolution. The people who ought to be fined are the ones buying the laws.
DdCno1@beehaw.org 10 months ago
Total revolutions tend to eat their children. Those who are already the most vulnerable in the old system tend to be in the most precarious situation in the new one as well. What we actually need is careful and gradual reform, based on democratic principles, instead of revoluzzers imposing their will upon the rest of the population, which is how most revolutions end.