$ 5 billion is not what it is, Facebook deserves a heavier penalty

According to regulations that Facebook agrees to sign with management agencies in 2011, the world’s largest social network cannot use user information without their explicit consent. However, recent scandals such as Cambridge Analytica show that Facebook violated that regulation on a large scale.

So recently, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has decided to fine Facebook $ 5 billion.

Although these are some huge fines, one of the biggest civil fines imposed by the FTC, for many US politicians the punishment is still not worthy of Facebook’s violations. Representative of the Democratic Party at Rohde Island, David Ciciline said that the penalty was too small and with Facebook it was like a 5-month early Christmas gift. “This amount is only a small part of Facebook’s annual revenue. It will not make them think more about their responsibility for protecting user data , “ Cicilline wrote.

Few people know that Facebook is a huge money-making machine. In 2018, the company generated USD 55.8 billion in revenue and USD 22.1 billion in profit. In the first quarter of this year, Facebook had $ 15.1 billion in revenue and $ 2.4 billion in net profit after subtracting the estimated $ 3 billion penalty fee. By the end of the first quarter of 2019, Facebook had $ 45.42 billion in cash and equivalent in bank accounts. Therefore, a $ 5 billion fine like “stainless steel mosquito” with Mark Zuckerberg’s company.

After knowing Facebook was fined $ 5 billion, Democratic Party Senator Richard Blumenthal and Republican Senator Josh Hawley wrote to the FTC to complain that the fine was too low. They also demanded that senior Facebook officials, including co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, be personally responsible for the scandals in the past.

The reaction of investors also showed the punishment that Facebook just received is too light. Even if the punishment comes with 20 years of supervision, Facebook shares still closed that day for an extra price of $ 2.

Some lawmakers are concerned that Facebook is becoming too big. Democratic Party presidential candidate, Senator Elizabeth Warren recommended that Facebook be separated from Instagram and WhatsApp. Facebook bought Instagram for $ 1 billion in 2012 and spent $ 19 billion to buy WhatsApp in 2014.