[still_grokking]

Something worth at least $8.5M is a minor trivial "misstep"?

What do you need to do as a private person to get fined at least $8.5M? Kill somebody by accident? No, that does not cost so much usually (even if you would count all your time lost in jail).

My proposal would be: Calculate the daily rate of an average Apple employee (this includes the poor people in some Chinese factories), divide the fine by that, and this will result in the days the responsible C-level staff gets jailed. This would be simple and very effective.

[simondotau]

> Something worth at least $8.5M is a minor trivial "misstep"?

For a company with probably ten million affected customers within the relevant jurisdiction, yes. The fine itself categorises this matter as a trivial misstep.

Also your logic is weird. You’re using the assessed punishment as justification for why the assessed punishment is insufficient.

[null_object]

> this will result in the days the responsible C-level staff gets jailed. This would be simple and very effective.

I really recommend you transfer your hatred and sense of injustice to companies that are right at this moment poisoning environments - even in the US - and actively covering-up chemical leaks, or the pollution of people’s drink-water, or allowing workers to use carcinogens that executives deny are dangerous.

Some pathetic technical contravention of a trivial rule by Apple here is not worth your energy and passionate hatred.