[Sutanreyu]

I've always wondered in cases like these what they actually DO with the money after they fine huge companies like this... As in, how would they remedy the damage? Would they use it to go after companies that made money off of people's personal data or make them develop better privacy features or what else?

[CharlesColeman]

> I've always wondered in cases like these what they actually DO with the money after they fine huge companies like this... As in, how would they remedy the damage? Would they use it to go after companies that made money off of people's personal data or make them develop better privacy features or what else?

The answer is but a Google away: except for the CFPB, the money goes to the same place your tax checks go: into "the U.S. Treasury for general use."

https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Where-Do-Those-Huge-Fe...:

[laythea]

Given that the money is a fiat system, without the backing of actual gold, this money effectively goes back into "the ether".

[chki]

I don't think that's true. The money is not destroyed, it is instead transferred to the government and can be used for various purposes.

Of course you could argue that the government could theoretically decide to arbitraly print money so any money that goes to the government is actually not worth anything but since the fed operates independently this is just not true.

[yeahitslikethat]

The US treasury loans the cash at zero interest to the Fed (which is actually a coalition of corporate banks, not a federal government entity).

The Fed then loans that money out with interest and backed by the good faith in the us government.

This means the banks which as major holders of stock in Facebook, most of whom want Zuckerberg out as ceo, are also incentivized to pursue a bigger fine.

[chki]

Sorry to be a bit harsh but those are a lot of strange claims.

The Fed comes very close to a government entity in that its board is nominated by the government and confirmed by the Senate. It is not made up of corporate banks and is definitely not a coalition of corporate banks.

I'm not sure how you get the idea that the US Treasury loans the fine to the Fed? Do you have a source for that?

And if those big banks are major stock holders of Facebook they definitely do not want fines imposed on Facebook. Loosing money is the one thing that businesses need to avoid and fines are a pretty direct way of hurting business while not being useful in any way. Just because those banks might want to see Zuckerberg go (which is not necessarily right) they do definitely not want to loose money to make that happen. Fines are also not very effective in that regard.

[yeahitslikethat]

They want that to happen if it means they can accelerate profits plus interest on the loans faster than new fine minus $5 billion.

Fed is a corporation source, there are plenty. It's common knowledge, " the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit stated that: "The Reserve Banks are not federal instrumentalities for purposes of the FTCA [the Federal Tort Claims Act], but are independent, privately owned and locally controlled corporations." "

Loans to the banks: "By the end of 2008, Goldman had snarfed up $34 billion in federal loans – and it was paying an interest rate of as low as just 0.01 percent for the huge cash infusion. "

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/secrets-...