• Rottcodd@lemmy.world
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    5 months ago

    No - it’s actually not like that at all.

    Google didn’t pay that money just to bypass the formalities along the way to paying a fixed fine - they paid it in order to head off the possibility that they were going to face a jury trial instead of a bench trial, since juries are far more likely to vote in favor of much bigger fines than judges are.

    • FaceDeer@fedia.io
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      5 months ago

      The prosecution’s own expert estimated that the amount that was paid was the maximum they could expect to get.

    • sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works
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      5 months ago

      I don’t think it’s about the fines, it’s about the cost for Google to fight in court and perhaps setting precedent. It’s often just cheaper to pay the fine.