[jimnotgym]

> You can see how few people ICO impose fines on already, and that they have never imposed the maximum fine

Why would they have to impose the maximum to be effective?

The maximum sentence for arson in the UK is life imprisonment, something you are unlikely to see imposed. That doesn't mean that everybody is going to start torching their houses for the insurance.

> UK regulators really do take a light touch approach, aiming to get companies to change behaviour.

Maybe the German ones did too, but Facebook chose to ignore them?

Here is a recent DPA case against a non US company btw[0].

[0]http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-42637820

[stordoff]

> The maximum sentence for arson in the UK is life imprisonment, something you are unlikely to see imposed. That doesn't mean that everybody is going to start torching their houses for the insurance.

And if you did see that, I suspect you'd start seeing that maximum imposed more - there's no reason why the ICO wouldn't do the same if lower fines were ineffective.