In the summer of 2012, Google was charged with secretly tracking the browsing of Safari users using cookies, and therefore violating their privacy. As a result, the FTC fined Google $22.5 million, the biggest fine in the history of the FTC.
However, consider the fact that Google generates on average $136 million in revenue PER DAY (calculated using the numbers from their latest quarterly financial report), or that they have $43 billion in cash, and suddenly the $22.5 million fine seems like pocket change. In fact, the biggest consequence of this ordeal for Google is likely the negative publicity and damage to their reputation.
We often see articles using the generic headline “X Company slapped with $$$ fine”. It makes perfect sense actually. A monetary fine for these multibillion-dollar companies is just like a slap, embarrassing, but it ultimately does no real damage. Google stock actually gained $13 per share on the day after the fine.