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Comment by caf | Hacker News Reader

The phrase "incandescent with rage" comes to mind when reading that order. A couple of choice quotes:

To hide the truth, Vice-President of Finance, Alex Roman, outright lied under oath.

This is an injunction, not a negotiation. There are no do-overs once a party willfully disregards a court order. Time is of the essence. The Court will not tolerate further delays. As previously ordered, Apple will not impede competition. The Court enjoins Apple from implementing its new anticompetitive acts to avoid compliance with the Injunction.

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She also referred Alex Roman's actions and everyone else complicit for review of contempt of court, which carries a possible prison sentence. I never thought Apple would outright defy the courts to the degree they'd risk a prison term for the executives.

Give the current situation with people ignoring the court (cough into the presidency) with no consequences, what do you expect them to do? Take the courts seriously?

Now, practically speaking, that exposes them to the Court taking all their frustration out on the execs. Oops.

You do realize that they ignored the court order -during- Biden's administration, not Trump's, right?

Is it surprising? If the revenue realized by the ongoing defiance of the courts exceeds the cost of replacing the executive (including any risk premium caused by the risk of jail time in that job) then it seems rational for Apple as an entity to continue to defy the law.

Even if these executive positions carried a guarantee of a several year term in minimum or medium security prison, for the salaries involved they should be able to find someone who is reasonably competent and willing to do the job.

It's not like the corporate entity itself can be threatened with state violence, and it's owners (probably half the US!) are insulated from any real consequences. An entity like Apple really has diffused responsibility to the point that it transcends the law at this point, and it becomes perfectly rational for it to defy the courts.

You seem to be ignoring the question of why any executive would be dumb enough to risk actual jail time to further the interests of the inhuman, soulless entity that is Apple Computer.

Because they're getting paid tens of millions. same reason people join criminal organizations, really. the profit outweighs the potential downsides.

They'll defy the courts for profit but not for warrants and surveillance requests. Telling

Do they defy the courts in China or just in the US?

> I never thought Apple would outright defy the courts to the degree they'd risk a prison term for the executives.

He probably got offered a couple mil for a slap on the wrist, he likely won't even be jailed for a day. Why wouldn't they lie? They have the money to get away with it.

I wonder if Alex Roman was pulled aside by the caporegime and told that if he takes the fall for this one, he'll be a made man once he's out of prison.

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