[socalnate1]

Why is Hacker news so obsessed with sending people to jail? Literally every time any sort of corporation get's fined (for nearly anything), there is a loud call to send people to prison.

It's like there is this undercurrent of bloodthirstiness and hatred for large companies and their leaders that get's brought to the surface.

[FireBeyond]

Because many times, the default "punishment" is a fine that is often times a _small percentage_ of the _profit_ from the illegal/negligent act.

That is not a punishment, or even a deterrent. And therefore, corporate leaders continue, unabated, doing things like this. Because there is effectively zero incentive to do so.

If you are a corporate officer, directing and / or approving policies that are illegal, tell me why you should -not- go to prison?

[tathougies]

> If you are a corporate officer, directing and / or approving policies that are illegal, tell me why you should -not- go to prison?

You should and the law allows for this. Certain crimes will get corporate executives locked up. It's a matter of making stricter liabilities and sentences for these white collar crimes, which really should have happened yesterday.

[FireBeyond]

I absolutely agree. I was addressing the parent, more - and their question of "why does HN have this obsession with sending people to prison for corporate/white collar crimes?"

[Ancalagon]

Because frankly wealthy, successful, rich people like those leading equifax (and many other major corporations) are not punished in the same way normal people are.

[SkyBelow]

>Why is Hacker news so obsessed with sending people to jail? Literally every time any sort of corporation get's fined (for nearly anything), there is a loud call to send people to prison.

Because that is the default response to poor people, yet corporations don't have the same threat. They effectively become immune to the law as long as they are willing to pay the extra tax.

[mixedCase]

Jail time means a lot to people who usually commit high-stakes white-collar crimes since they have a lot to lose in those cases. A very material risk of facing it would definiely help prevent others from committing those crimes.

If you slap them in the wrist and let them carry on with a fine it makes it very easy for a psychopath to just risk it.

[argd678]

If you read the post, the question is how to change the behavior, and in the US would be white collar criminals are dissuaded by jail. We could give them a social score too, that seems to work in China.

[rpmisms]

I can't tell if you're being serious, but for the love of freedom I hope you're not.

[pimmen]

Maybe not jail time but I would really want the board to be personally responsible for what they did. Or, if they can argue that they made sure their corporation had a good security culture, the executives who broke the company regulations need to be personally responsible.

Seriously, someone needs to be rehabilitated from this before they can be sent back into society. After someone gets out of jail from grand theft auto they need to understand that what they did was wrong and treating people like that hurts them. I’m not saying the executives need jail time and emotional trauma, but at least some sort of therapy where they’re confronted with the fact that doing this stuff with a hundred million people is not nice and has consequences. They should fundamentally rethink their lives and what brought them to do such a careless thing with people’s data, just like a convicted felon.

Edit: made it clearer that I meant the decision makers, not all owners.

[pmiller2]

Re: “owners”

You know the “owners” of Equifax are its shareholders, right? You’d end up sending a bunch of index fund managers to jail, among others.

I think you mean “officers and board members,” the people who can make day to day decisions for the company. If so, I support it. Lock! Them! Up!

[pimmen]

Yeah, that’s what I basically meant since they are supposed to represent the owners. I’ll fix the post.