Apple (AAPL) agreed to pay a $113 million fine related to throttling of iPhones. The fine comes with all of the usual B.S. about not having to admit guilt. Apple generated $81 Billion of Operating Cash Flow in the most recent year, thus the fine is meaningless.
This government action is without teeth and reminds me of the frequent and many fines government levies against large Financial Institutions. The idea should be to levy fines and/or jail time such that large Tech and Financial Services companies will lose the incentive to pursue unlawful activities.
Instead, these penalties are simply an input to the Cost of Goods Sold equation and don’t do anything to deter unlawful behavior and instead enrich government agencies.