[dragonwriter]

> It's far from fair given that if _I_ breach copyright and get caught, I go to jail, not just pay a fine.

This settlement has nothing to do with any criminal liability Anrhropic might have, only tort liability (and it doesn’t involves damages, not fines.)

[stingraycharles]

Also, you can’t put a business in jail.

[echoangle]

But you can put the people that made the decision or are responsible for it in jail (or prison).

[Draiken]

Isn't this wishful thinking? This basically never happens. Theory vs reality is very real.

[nektro]

what kind of thinking is this? even if it was actually never, today's a good day as any to start

[Draiken]

Never said it's a bad idea. Just that it's not what actually happens or realistically what will ever happen.

[mihaic]

Weather the population thinks that's wishful thinking or not, it's generally right.

[zzzeek]

Huh ? Ask Sam Bankman-Fried, ask Enron, people go to jail for corporate crime all the time, are you meaning just for copyright infringement?

[nerdsniper]

The examples you mention are all of someone stealing from the rich. But otherwise, even the most blatant obstruction of justice goes unanswered.

“Greyball”: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/03/technology/uber-greyball-...

My uncle went to jail for picking up someone in an airport in his taxi. He didnt have the airport permit (could only drop off, not pick up). Travis Kalanick industrialized that crime on a grand scale and got billions of dollars instead of jail.

[omnimus]

Aaron Swartz downloaded big part of JSTOR to make a statistical model for some research, was charged with hacking felony and committed suicide because of it. Sam Altman downloaded all of JSTOR and then rest of the internet to make a statistical model to make a commercial product. He is praised for it.

The lesson is clear. Don't make things that don't make money to the already rich.

[tomrod]

Relative the amount of corporate malfeasance that occurs? Hardly anyone.

[toss1]

Just for copyright infringement? You might like to have a word with Aaron Swartz, except he ended his life as he was being Federally prosecuted for copyright infringement, copying scientific articles.

Remarkably similar, bulk copying of data for other use, except Swartz wanted to make it free vs Anthropic, who wants to make it available via it's "AI" repackaging. One is Federally prosecuted with possibility of decades of jail time and million-dollar fines, the other is a mere civil action.

[beadmomsw]

Thanks!

[digdugdirk]

Please, name 5 more "big name" examples.

[YetAnotherNick]

Asked AI:

- Sam Bankman-Fried (FTX): Sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2024 for orchestrating a massive fraud involving the misappropriation of billions in customer funds.

- Elizabeth Holmes (Theranos): Began an 11-year prison sentence in 2023 after being convicted of defrauding investors with false claims about her blood-testing technology.

- Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani (Theranos): The former president of Theranos was sentenced to nearly 13 years in prison for his role in the same fraud as Elizabeth Holmes.

- Trevor Milton (Nikola Corporation): Convicted of securities and wire fraud, he was sentenced to four years in prison in 2023.

- Ippei Mizuhara: The former translator for MLB star Shohei Ohtani was charged in April 2024 with bank fraud for illegally transferring millions from the athlete's account.

- Sergei Potapenko and Ivan Turogin: Convicted in February 2025 for a $577 million cryptocurrency fraud scheme.

- Bernard Madoff: Sentenced to 150 years in prison in 2009 for running the largest Ponzi scheme in history. He died in prison in 2021.

- Jeffrey Skilling (Enron): The former CEO of Enron was sentenced to 24 years in prison in 2006 for fraud and conspiracy. His sentence was later reduced, and he was released in 2019.

- Dennis Kozlowski (Tyco International): The former CEO served over six years in prison after being convicted in 2005 for looting millions from the company.

- Bernard "Bernie" Ebbers (WorldCom): Sentenced to 25 years in prison for orchestrating an $11 billion accounting fraud. He was granted early release in 2019 and died shortly after.

Apart from this list I know Nissan's ex CEO was put into solitary confinement for months.

[OJFord]

Can you name 7 people that went to prison for non-corporate crimes that easily too?

[mapt]

But we almost never do. Have you seen the legal code? Every large corporation commits criminal acts many times a day. Even crimes so serious or offensive that they become politically relevant are almost always dealt with in a totally hands-off manner.

To actually get convicted of anything as a corporate officer, you have to have substantially defrauded your own shareholders, who are senior to the public's interest in justice. Most such crimes involve financial malfeasance.

[nickpsecurity]

There's multiple options:

1. Hit them with fines or punitive damages high enough to wipe out all their operating profit and executive pay for as many years as a person would be in prison.

2. Seize the company (retainership?), replace its executives, and make the new leaders sign off to not do that thing again. That's in addition to a huge fine.

3. Dissolve it. Liquidate its assets.

They usually just let the big companies off while throwing everything they have at many individuals who aren't corporations.

For settlement-type deals, maybe see if they'll give all authors they ripped off free access to Claude models, too. They reap the benefits of what was produced. At cost with certain amount of free credits.

[bfdm]

Yea we should change that. Corporate life without parole: sorry, you don't get to be a business anymore, bye.

[victorbjorklund]

And all those employees and customers are punished for the crimes of a few.

[jjani]

For egregious cases, yes. Absolutely. That very short term pain is almost instantly offset by the societal gain brought about by companies' better adherence to the law. It's incredible just how much good it would do, and how quickly this would happen.

And please don't assume a "you wouldn't if it was your own employer" - no, I very much would, despite the struggles it would cause.

[victorbjorklund]

Companies cant think and act. Employees at companies commit crimes. Lets say that a boss at Microsoft commits a crime.

Entire company shutdown. All employees fired. All servers shutdown. All windows computers stop working. All companies using azure gets their stuff turned off. And so on.

Is the world a better place?

[jjani]

In that second? No. A week later when, as a result, every other company has gotten their act togeter? Yes, the world is an incredibly better place.

[_DeadFred_]

Sure you can, easily.

Give the government partial ownership. This dilutes the other owners and ties them do the government. This gives the government more 'oversight' power over the business, just like jail. Give the government an oversite seat on the board.

There are many ways you can put a business in jail, we're just told you can't because that would inconvenience the current business models of breaking the laws/rules/obligations to 'streamline' business and 'innovate'.

[boredatoms]

Thats fixable

[ra]

No, but you can jail directors if a company has committed a crime.