The linked Reuters article provides a bit more context:
The jury agreed with the plaintiffs that Alphabet’s Google (GOOGL.O), opens new tab 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?
Don’t we ban Chinese phones for the same actions?
China bad.
laughs in GrapheneOS
I don’t chase dropped pennies, and I don’t think google does either!
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.
Base it not off the entire company, base it off the value of doing this. They didnt make 100 billion off unapproved android user data collection.
This argument is common and while fines should be higher, the idea that they dont matter unless they are 10% of earnings is ridiculous.
Because all the “slap on the wrist” fines have worked so well to modify corporate rapism… /s
Yeah I’d agree that there is a lack of enforcement in some aspects but moreso a lack of regulation and legislation in others.
There needs to be a better commitment to addressing trends in capitalism than reacting to their overstepping.
I’m 70 years old and that still hasn’t happened. Bring back the guillotine, I say. Anything less is just the price of a permit.
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.
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.
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.
Perhaps a post about this in politics? You’ve piqued my interest.
I don’t know, it’s Russian news mostly, just impressed plenty of people enough to say “yeah, this is bad, time to flee” (because this basically means that people in power don’t expect anything even resembling rule of law in the next few decades ; some sort of thief feudalism, like the “political system” Gypsies have when left to themselves, and I don’t hate Gypsies, but I also don’t like a few things associated with their cultures).
I’m extremely interested. Perhaps somewhere on a niche instance?
It doesn’t come up in search on Lemmy, at least everything by “Adam Kadyrov” is about some special forces training event or him beating someone.
If a link in Russian will do (Google Translate?), then https://www.gazeta.ru/social/news/2025/06/30/26158466.shtml , maybe?
The wedding also involved shooting into the air from a G-Wagon and polarized sunglasses (OK, that part is really not that strange, it’s basic convenience and fashion everywhere around Caucasus ; just wanted to communicate the atmosphere).
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.
Probably won’t have to pay. They’re appealing.
They’re appalling
They’re impaling
Vladislav?
Fine needs to be much bigger. All the decision makers that approved it need to be removed and barred from working in the industry
Break the law and pay 0.014% of your market cap, or 0.31% of their 2024 profit.
(Also not change anything besides maybe make a terms upade.)
The horror!!
They’ll likely appeal.
True, the economy is saved!!
They already argued once in court that this was detailed in the TOS. Dunno if the appeal will do anything, but Google isn’t exactly hurting for the money.
So when are we all finally going to ditch Google/Apple and move on to actual FOSS phones like Librem5 or Fairphone?
Which one allows me to actually control my phone and reject all the updates?
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.
Fairphone is FOSS??
They submitted kernel patches for (at least some) support of the FP6 the day it released. The preinstalled OS isn’t FOSS though a good few FOSS OSs/distros support their older phones (and presumably the FP6 eventually).
So the answer is… sort of? Personally I just think they’re just FOSS-friendly
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.
Oh noes
They’re shivering in their boots
