Google didn’t pay that money just to bypass the formalities along the way to paying a fixed fine - they paid it in order to head off the possibility that they were going to face a jury trial instead of a bench trial, since juries are far more likely to vote in favor of much bigger fines than judges are.
I don’t think it’s about the fines, it’s about the cost for Google to fight in court and perhaps setting precedent. It’s often just cheaper to pay the fine.
It’s more like paying the ticket without ever showing up in court. And at least where I live, I can do that.
No - it’s actually not like that at all.
Google didn’t pay that money just to bypass the formalities along the way to paying a fixed fine - they paid it in order to head off the possibility that they were going to face a jury trial instead of a bench trial, since juries are far more likely to vote in favor of much bigger fines than judges are.
The prosecution’s own expert estimated that the amount that was paid was the maximum they could expect to get.
I don’t think it’s about the fines, it’s about the cost for Google to fight in court and perhaps setting precedent. It’s often just cheaper to pay the fine.