Tech fines tracker
Big Tech, small consequences
Fines are big - and growing
In 2024, Alphabet, Google's parent company, was fined nearly $2.9 billion dollars. This is an astronomical amount that's almost impossible to imagine.
But Big Tech is bigger
Yet as big as this amount is, it will barely affect Google. Alphabet, Google's parent company, had a free cash flow of $47.9 billion for the first three quarters of 2024, meaning it made enough money to pay its $2.5 billion fine (the largest fine any company received last year) in just over two weeks.
Free cash flow (FCF) is a measure Alphabet defines as "amount of cash generated by the business that can be used for strategic opportunities, including investing in our business and acquisitions, and to strengthen our balance sheet."
The other Big Tech companies' free cash flows similarly make their fines little more than a speeding ticket.
How long did it take Big Tech to pay off all their fines?
In 2024, Google could pay its nearly $3 billion in fines with the free cash flow it generated in less than three weeks. If we want Big Tech to prioritize our privacy, the fines must increase or regulatory bodies must force them to change their practices.
Key indicators |  undefined |  undefined |  undefined |  undefined |  undefined |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2024 free cash flow | $108.81 billion | $47.93 billion | $74.07 billion | $40.51 billion | $15.08 billion |
Total fines 2024 | $2,117,203,000 | $2,974,752,000 | $1,605,000,000 | $1,462,850,000 | $57,478,000 |
Time to pay off its fines (using free cash flow) | 7 days, 2 hours, 28 minutes | 16 days, 21 hours, 25 minutes | 7 days, 21 hours, 49 minutes | 9 days, 19 hours, 15 minutes | 1 day, 0 hours, 51 minutes |
See all Big Tech fines for 2024
We have collated all the fines Big Tech have received in 2024. We will be updating it with historic data, as well as with the latest fines as they are issued.
$13,650,000
January 2024
Russia - for abusing its dominant position concerning in-app payment(new window).
Time to pay off : 1 hour, 6 minutes
$2bn
March 2024
EU - for breaking streaming rules(new window).
Time to pay off : 6 days, 17 hours, 2 minutes
$153,000
$14,400,000
October 2024
South Korea - for in-app payment breaches(new window)
PENDING original complaint(new window)
Time to pay off: 1 hour, 10 minutes
$89,000,000
October 2024
USA - for mishandling consumer disputes of Apple Card(new window) transactions (joint fine with Goldman Sachs)
Time to pay off: 7 hours, 10 minutes
See all Big Tech fines for 2023
We have collated all the fines Big Tech have received in 2023.
See all Big Tech fines for 2022
We have collated all the fines Big Tech have received in 2022.
$156,000,000
January 2022
France - for making it difficult for users to refuse cookies(new window)
$40,000,000
August 2022
Australia - for misleading users about location data collection(new window)
$25bn (potentially)
September 2022
UK & EU - for abusing monopoly power in advertising(new window)
$50,000,000
September 2022
South Korea - for failing to obtain users' consent before collecting data(new window)
$162,000,000
$113,000,000
October 2022
India - for refusing to allow third-party payment services(new window)
$391,500,000
November 2022
40 states in the USA - for tracking users location even after they opted out(new window)
$4.125bn
November 2022
France - for illegally bundling services on Android(new window) (fine reduced on appeal from $4.34 billion)
The above tables are not an exhaustive list of all the fines these companies received in the listed calendar years. We included all the substantial fines we could find in major news sources, but there might be others. These tables focus on fines and settlements with governments and regulatory bodies and exclude class action lawsuits, tax disputes, and censorship fines from Russia over removing news about Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Also, due to the fluctuation of foreign exchange rates, the dollar amounts might have shifted since these tables were published.
If you have questions or think there's a fine we should add, write to us at media@proton.me.
Read more about Big Tech fines
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Big Tech earns enough in less than 3 weeks to pay all 2024 fines
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Big Tech has already made enough money in 2024 to pay all its 2023 fines
Last year, Big Tech companies (Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, and Microsoft) received about $3.04 billion in fines for breaking laws on both sides of the Atlantic. As of seven days and three hours into 2024, they had already earned enough revenue to pay it all off.
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Google’s $391 million settlement pushes Big Tech fines over $3 billion in 2022
In 2022, Google agreed to settle a lawsuit brought by 40 US states for $391.5 million. Law enforcement officials in those states said the company had secretly tracked the locations of Android users who thought their location tracking was turned off.