Why a Republican senator wants the FTC to throw the book at Facebook

Found on Ars Technica on Tuesday, 07 May 2019
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"The FTC must set a resounding precedent that is heard by Facebook and any other tech company that disregards the law in a rapacious quest for growth," write Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.). "The commission should pursue deterrent monetary penalties and impose forceful accountability measures on Facebook."

The Republican chairman reportedly favors a fine of around $5 billion and has the backing of the other two Republican commissioners. In its last quarterly earnings statement, Facebook said it was budgeting $3 billion to $5 billion for an expected FTC fine.

But the two Democrats consider this inadequate. They not only want a larger fine, they're also seeking to hold Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg personally responsible for the company's missteps.

In their letter, Blumenthal and Hawley firmly side with the Democrats in this intra-agency fight. The pair describes a $5 billion fine as a "bargain" for a company with $15 billion in quarterly revenues, and they also argue that "fines alone are insufficient."

You have to hit them, and you have to hit them hard. Otherwise they won't learn from it.