Do you like to be monitored everywhere you go or do you like to let someone know all your sensitive information? This is how to use the internet today. Tech companies collect more data than ever before, and regulators are more than happy to hand out hefty fines when those companies misuse it.
Since the Eurozone’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into effect in 2018, it has resulted in seven of the eight largest fines.(Opens in a new window) With big tech firms including Amazon, Facebook and Google.
In the year In July 2021, Amazon was fined 746 million euros ($740 million now, but $865 million at the time).(Opens in a new window)) – the largest fine imposed by GDPR to date. Meanwhile, Google has been fined $199 million on three separate occasions.
Meta properties, including Instagram, WhatsApp and Facebook, have been sued for $685 million for various violations, including a recent $400 million fine imposed on Instagram for violating privacy laws surrounding the collection of children’s information.
Those fines may seem big, but they’re a small part of every company’s revenue. This means that data privacy regulations are more of a business value than simply a disruption.
Amazon will earn 469 billion dollars in 2021(Opens in a new window)So the $740 million fine was less than 1 percent of the company’s total global revenue. While Meta did not disclose Instagram’s exact revenue, the apps business(Opens in a new window) In fiscal year 2021, the platform is estimated to generate $47.6 billion in revenue. Again, that’s less than 1% of gross revenue, even though GDPR allows for fines of up to 4% of a company’s gross revenue for the previous year.
Meta’s first quarterly failure even(Opens in a new window)The company still earned $28.82 billion in Q2 2022. And Google will earn $256.7 billion by 2021.(Opens in a new window). So none of these companies will face all those fines for breaking the laws that have been put in place to regulate them.
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