$2.5 million is just over a half hour (33.6 min) of net sales reported on Amazon's 2020 annual report, or put another way, 0.0006% of net sales. I don't understand why the WA state attorney general considers that any sort of punishment.
I'm not anti-Amazon and don't even understand the alleged bad behavior. My point is that if governments want any corporation to behave, then the punishment has to be enough to deter future bad behavior. I don't see how this crosses the threshold where the corporation even cares about fines like this.
Now if courts start imposing fines/settlements/whatever that are double digit percentages of net sales, then I'd bet corporations would care deeply about it and start training their executives how not to be evil, and HBR would write articles about renewing ethics in corporations, and consultants would start offering ethical business practice training, etc.
Because the 2.5 million isn't a punishment. It's to "support the AG's anti-trust enforcement which does not receive general fund support". Did you even read the link?
The punishment is that they can no longer have this program.
I'm not anti-Amazon and don't even understand the alleged bad behavior. My point is that if governments want any corporation to behave, then the punishment has to be enough to deter future bad behavior. I don't see how this crosses the threshold where the corporation even cares about fines like this.
Now if courts start imposing fines/settlements/whatever that are double digit percentages of net sales, then I'd bet corporations would care deeply about it and start training their executives how not to be evil, and HBR would write articles about renewing ethics in corporations, and consultants would start offering ethical business practice training, etc.