Apple was not able to narrow the scope of a UK lawsuit accusing it of locking 40 million UK consumers into iCloud, to the detriment of third-party cloud storage providers. British consumer group Which? first filed the lawsuit in late 2024, and is asking for £3 billion for UK Apple customers. Apple wanted to exclude non-paying iCloud users from the lawsuit, but the tribunal denied Apple's request in a 2 to 1 majority.
This narrative has to come with more sense. I am sick of seeing it trotted out whenever there are fines handed down.
Revenue is not theirs, it is the high water mark and a nice headline but it does not account for anything so its relationship to a fine is irrelevant.
The intent of comments like this is to highlight that the fines are just a cost of business but then fail to consider how that cost is managed against its particular infringing product. For example if you heard google got a 3 billion euro fine you might suggest it being nothing to them, but what if the product it related to was google keep the post it app. Does that product seem likely to generate 3 billion for them? No, so the fine would encourage change.
Fines should be hard hitting, not destroying. They need to be handed out for everything not huge ones that encompass the general mood.
iClous makes a lot of money but a 3 billion increase operating costs is significant. The acknowledgement from both the government and apple will create an interest in further regulations and actions. If the fine is given, they will also have to change, it isnt that they can pay it and keep doing it unless the regulators lose their teeth.
To your point it’s one of the levers regulators and governments have against corporate entities.
It’s a difficult venue, but it does work even if it seems like it has a minor effect. It creates disincentives and incentives which business are influenced by.
It would be better if regulators had more teeth, but capitalist defang whenever they can. Be it laws, regulators, or even just public influence.
All that would be true IF they actually have to pay the money. A lot of the time it just gets stalled, thrown out or pardoned.
I don’t know about that, sure there are appeals it would only make sense but I doubt they are being pardoned in any great amount.
Appeals often mean paying first also.
Von der Leyen blocked a fine to google (heise.de link)
Definitely a cause for concern, seems it wasn’t a pardon though and it is being addressed.