Despite all the outrage against Verizon, a small part of me feels sorry for them. Having consulted with large corporations in the past, I know that most (all) of them don't generally have expertise in this kind of thing, and usually outsource it to a variety of digital agencies. My guess is that they will be having a very hard conversation with one or more of their vendors.
I can not believe such a huge company did not consult lawyers and that the guy who was forced to write the code didn't speak to their managers about potential implications (whether it went up the chain is another matter).
Besides that, ignorantia iuris nocet. Governments don't have problems with fining individuals unaware of arcane and complex laws. Why would we feel sorry for unscrupulous corporations?
the guy who was forced to write the code didn't speak to their managers about potential implications
That isn't really the way things work in an agency/Fortune 500 relationship. What really happens is something like:
-> the development manager attempts to translate the implications of said software to an account manager who is directly responsible for client communication
-> the account manager has little idea of what the development manager is talking about, which does not stop them from attempting to translate in turn to the client's marketing team
-> the one tech representative from the client company listens to the translation in abject horror, knowing that any questions they ask will never be adequately answered
-> everyone goes out for drinks on the agency's tab
This isn't a raging critique of the process, it's just what normally happens.
