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▲ google234123 5 hours ago

We need tort reform in the US. These nuclear verdicts are causing insurance prices to go up. I forget the statistics, but I'm pretty sure every American citizen is paying a $500 to multi-thousand dollar tax because of giant lawsuits like this. Nowhere else in the world has this problem. Lawyers have too much power with politicians.

▲JohnMakin 5 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Yea, that's the problem here, not the (illegal) wanton abuse and manipulation of user data and privacy by Meta and other companies.

Original reward was 200+ billion, lawyered down to 25, on appeal I imagine much less. Cost of doing business for Meta and nothing changes. In cases like this, it should cost the company serious financial harm. Even $25 billion is nothing to Meta.

▲newsclues 5 hours ago | parent [-]

If Meta is able to insure themselves from the cost of their illegal business practices that, so they have no incentive not to do this, and end up costing everyone money on their insurance... yes that is a problem, not to say what meta is being punished for isn't a problem.

▲WheatMillington 4 hours ago | parent [-]

Surely you realise that no insurance company will continually indemnify a company which knowingly and repeatedly breaks the law, resulting in losses to the insurance company? Surely you understand that this isn't how insurance works?

▲advisedwang 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

The penalty was not damages, it was a statutory per-count penalty. This was not a tort case at all, and tort reform has nothing to do with it.

▲KZerda 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Or Meta could not break the law. It's just that easy.

▲mingus88 5 hours ago | parent | next [-]

I support the death penalty for corporations.

▲cookingmyserver 4 hours ago | parent | next [-]

We need to hold shareholders responsible for the actions of the companies they own. I get why there is a certain level of immunity, especially historically. We wanted people to be able to invest money and not have to be experts on the politics and workings of the companies they were investing in. In the modern era of having detailed information about the board members, other major shareholders, executives, shareholder reports, etc all at your finger tips, you should have to weigh how ethical and responsible a company is before investing. It needs to be "priced-in". A $25 Billion dollar judgement against Meta might hurt profits a bit, but if that $25 Billion was paid in dividend claw backs or liens against stock...

Same goes for any business venture including private equity. No more corporate veil. Every dollar or stake in ownership needs to be attributable back to an individual that can be held financially responsible. Each individual can have some amount of assets protected from claw backs, liens, judgements, etc. Enough to cover a functional used vehicle, 3 bed two bath house in their zip code, 50k in cash, and their retirement account. This gives most normal people the freedom to invest with less worry. Still, if you want to make money, it will behoove you to not take on risk by investing in organizations that flout the law, cause environmental damage, or harm others.

▲newsclues 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I support the licensure of boards of directors and CEO types, and enforcement of laws against the people who control companies.

If the CFO commits a crime, they can't get a license anymore. Start getting the bad actors out of positions of power.

▲JasserInicide 4 hours ago | parent [-]

Licensing isn't the problem; simply prosecuting white collar crime is. No one wants to do it, especially the federal government, because they don't want to drive away companies to other countries.

▲ludicrousdispla 5 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

'capitalist punishment'

▲newsclues 5 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

But tort law makes it easy and profitable for them to do so.

Change the law, it just that easy.

▲ 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]
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▲WheatMillington 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Why would American taxpayers be paying more because of a settlement against a private company? Shouldn't this contribute to the tax take, causing taxpayers to pay LESS?

▲taude 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

That's because 47% of the Senate are attorneys/former practicing attorneys. Need more ex-Scientists in office. :)

▲freejazz 4 hours ago | parent [-]

No one is stopping them. There's no requirement that you be a lawyer. And lol, what a crazy idea... a lawmaker studying lawyering?! What a scam!

▲taude 3 hours ago | parent [-]

Just pointing out that congress has a lot of attorneys, and the OP was complaining about all the pro-attorney legislation.

Don't know why you think there's not correlation.

▲ 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]
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▲kube-system 5 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Other countries don't have this problem because they enable and expect regulators to proactively enforce compliance. In the US this is largely considered anti-business, so we let companies do whatever they want and don't take action until after they do something wrong.

And breaking the law usually doesn't result in a hit to next quarter's earnings, so this is what we optimize for: kicking the can down the road until it becomes a bigger problem.

▲reaperducer 5 hours ago | parent [-]

Other countries don't have this problem

Guess how we know you've never lived, worked, or read a newspaper in any other country.

▲kube-system 5 hours ago | parent [-]

Please note, those aren't my words but a response to the strongest plausible interpretation of the comment I'm responding to. (ie. it's hyperbole, meaning "the US relies heavily on torts to enforce consumer privacy compared to other countries")

Privacy law in the US is largely toothless and has vanishingly few proactive regulatory requirements. This case is a perfect example of this -- Facebook's blatant disregard for privacy wasn't what was found illegal here, it was only the fact they lied about it.