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Comment by bborud | Hacker News Reader

How would one hold Google accountable? By fining them $1bn? $10bn? $100bn? To them it is just the cost of doing business.

We're beyond holding huge companies accountable. The only way they could be held accountable is if there was personal risk involved for the CEOs. There isn't.

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At this point, breaking them up into smaller companies. Then start fining the individual companies so the balance sheets feel the fine more. Increase the fines exponentially for each violation.

The other option is jailing those who direct companies to break laws. It works for criminal organizations, why doesn't it work for companies?

If anyone will be going to jail within a corp, it's usually some low-level scapegoat and rarely the C-suite.

What is the likelihood of that happening? Realistically? Does anyone think government can, or even wants to, break up large companies? The large companies _own_ the politicians.

> There isn't.

Not with this attitude.

I hate these comments. What meaningful thing is this person supposed to do?

In the US, the government is _owned_ by corporations. To pretend otherwise is naive.

If I am the evil corporations owning the state I would love to make all citizens pathetic cynics who think they have no capability for change and therefore bears no responsibility.

Well I guess you are the smart one who will win! Put us all to shame, please.

How is this different from observed reality. No, don’t chicken out and try to get out of the question with something witty: give a proper answer.

You vote out the worst party.

Then the remaining party splinters into groups and you vote out the worst half of those two.

Rinse, repeat.

Are they both bad? Probably.

Are the equally bad? Not even remotely.

I’m not American. This is not an attitude. It is an observation. Before you get to thump your chest you owe me homework. You have to prove me wrong.

If a scam ad is found, at the very least, require them to disclose business records to show how much money the scam ad made (revenue, not profit), and make them repay it. Leave it up to the platform whether to recoup the paid-out share from the publisher or not.

If they are caught doing it repeatedly without taking adequate measures to stop it, treat them as an accessory to the crime.

Put execs in jail for enabling fraud

Start with $1 and double it every time they do it again.

Doesn't matter what fine you start with as long as you keep increasing it geometrically with repeated infractions.

> How would one hold Google accountable? By fining them $1bn? $10bn? $100bn? To them it is just the cost of doing business.

Percentage of global gross revenue like the EU's GDPR does seems to work effectively enough for a scare tactic.

For those who downvoted that comment: grow some nuts and prove me wrong.

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