• RubberDuck@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    Shipping companies setup separate LLC’s for their ships so of they have an accident the ship goes bankrupt and they keep their profits shielded… that kind of stuff is bullshit

    • tekato@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      Yes. Like every system, there are those who abuse it. But you must be careful so that while trying to punish those abusers, you don’t end up creating avenues to also punish those who don’t abuse the system, but simply make a mistake. This sets a precedent so that the government can target the assets of the owner of the company if they’re not satisfied the company punishment, which doesn’t sound as cool when the company in question is your family’s bakery or your neighbor’s paralegal office.

      • RubberDuck@lemmy.world
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        1 month ago

        I don’t know if this will be a big issue for small businesses. But in any case where there is construction of multiple companies in a structure to separate profits and losses for fuckery with taxes and fines, I think I would also be OK with that whole structure being seen as one entity and treated as such.

        The billionaire class however is uniquely adept at this kind of fuckery and wield an ungodly level of power, only surpassed by governments. And I think governments need to be careful that these assholes don’t get too much power… so it’s high time they take them down a peg… or 10.

        • tekato@lemmy.world
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          1 month ago

          It will be an issue because your average citizen won’t be so willing to start a new business if they know the government can come after their personal funds as a consequence of something that was done at the company level.

            • tekato@lemmy.world
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              1 month ago

              You are going for the assets of the owner, which are unrelated to the company in question. Effectively devaluating companies that are not the infringing one, which directly affect the person’s net worth. This is no different than the government straight up taking money from your investments or 401K.

      • BrikoX@lemmy.zip
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        1 month ago

        <…> your family’s bakery or your neighbor’s paralegal office.

        Are not subject to DSA. For the most part DSA only covers companies which have more than 45 million users in the European Union.

        • tekato@lemmy.world
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          1 month ago

          Whether it’s subject to DSA or not is irrelevant. The fact is that a company has to pay a fine to the government, whatever the infraction might be, and the government is trying to force something else, not the company in question, to pay the fine.

          • BrikoX@lemmy.zip
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            1 month ago

            It can’t be irrelevant as it’s the primary factor in deciding if the fine will even be brought. But ignoring that, there are clear limits. This would only apply to cases where corporate assets were used as personal ones. Hence, the limitation to private companies that have sole owners.

            And you talk like this is some novel never heard of approach. Personal liability applies to many actions under the law, just corporations managed to lobby it down for themselves. And your scaremongering of small family business becoming some governments targets are unfounded.

            • tekato@lemmy.world
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              1 month ago

              It can’t be irrelevant as it’s the primary factor in deciding if the fine will even be brought.

              Is DSA the only way for your company to get fined? If the answer is no, then yes, it’s irrelevant. Because while your company may not be eligible for a DSA fine, there are countless different situations which could leave you in the same spot.

              Personal liability applies to many actions under the law

              Yes, but none of those actions involve what is happening here. The DSA clearly states that the company may be fined up to 6% of its yearly revenue.

              your scaremongering of small family business becoming some governments targets are unfounded.

              What scaremongering? This is a valid concern. If Elon Musk’s rights as a company owner can be violated, who says yours can’t?

              • BrikoX@lemmy.zip
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                1 month ago

                I love how you quoted all the parts expect the one that mentions where for this to even apply the person have to misuse corporate assets in the first place. Follow the law, and you are good in the EU, no matter which size business you are.

                If Elon Musk’s rights as a company owner can be violated, who says yours can’t?

                Here you go again. If they decide to go through with it, no Musk rights will be violated, there is extensive legal precedent in the EU that covers this.

                • tekato@lemmy.world
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                  1 month ago

                  I love how you quoted all the parts expect the one that mentions where for this to even apply the person have to misuse corporate assets in the first place.

                  Didn’t bother responding to it because it’s irrelevant. Elon Musk is not being accused of misusing corporate assets, he is being accused of not complying with the DSA.

                  there is extensive legal precedent in the EU that covers this

                  Of course, extensive means many. Point to at least 2 cases in which other assets of a company’s owner were threatened by the EU government due to DSA violations. I know there are none, so I’ll make it easier. Name 2 cases for which the EU went after the owner’s other assets because the fine to the company wasn’t enough, whatever the fine might originate from.

    • sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works
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      1 month ago

      They also lose any claim to the cargo as well if they bankrupt the ship. It’s the same idea as buying an umbrella insurance policy, if you suffer a major loss, you lose the asset, but you don’t lose anything else.

      But I agree, we should probably have tighter standards on what qualifies for liability protection, as well as a record of past abuse of liability protection to prevent future abuse (i.e. your LLC application would be denied if you’ve bankrupted too many prior companies). So we should be stopping this at the source, not retroactively removing the liability protections because the government made a stupid contract.

      • RubberDuck@lemmy.world
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        1 month ago

        If the cargo is a few million barrels of oil now the problem of the government who’s shores it threatens… you don’t really care do you?

        • sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works
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          1 month ago

          That would be on the company’s insurance to cover, and shipping companies should be absolutely required to carry insurance for things like oil spills.

          • RubberDuck@lemmy.world
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            1 month ago

            Sure… mostly they do… but then captains are drunk, maintenance is poor and the insurance declines to pay… or drags that out through court for 2 decades… meanwhile governments have to foot the bill. The examples are endless unfortunately.