this post was submitted on 30 Oct 2026
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Honestly go after the contractors that did the clearing too. They should know that this kind of thing requires permits and google clearly didnt show them any proof of those.
What if they knew, and did it anyways as fast as they could because the fine is nothing but the cost of doing business to them. Slap on the wrist, the trees are already dead, building it anyways shut up or Trump/the US will make your life terrible if you complain.
I think that's the point. For Google billions is the cost of doing business. For the contractors it could be criminal negligence which means personal liability.
Will Google have a reason to do that though? Won't they just leave the contractors to fend for themselves?
For google its a slap on the wrist, for a construction contractor you might just bankrupt them out of existence with a big enough fine.
They were probably paid way more to clear it than fines would amount to.
The criminal investigation needs to be carried against the managers at Google, not some small-time contractors.
Did you see the size of that forest? Nothing small-time about that. 330 hectar, 250000 trees. Of course going after google has priority, but companies need to be scared to do things like this without checking very thoroughly that they are allowed to do it, otherwise anyone can just do anything and claim ignorance afterwards. There should be prison time for everyone who greenlit this.
Like, the guys collecting a check who drove the bulldozers? No, obviously leave them alone. But the owner of those dozers, that made a profit "moving fast and breaking things" needs more than a fine.
As in the people who decided that this project should be put in action yeah
Just agreeing and reenforcing your point for the fella above