The part that incites anger isn't prosecuting someone for behavior on the internet, it's the actual behavior. Astro-turfing reviews hurts consumers and thus this prosecution is applauded by consumers. Consumers downloading music hurts the producers and thus is applauded by the producers (well, some of them).
It's really not hard to understand why seeing the "little" guy be attacked incites more popular anger than the reverse.
I think it's pretty obvious why the little guy story is more popular but i think both stories are pretty much the same.
Numbers aside, putting a significant fine on a company that's breaking the law is no different than a fine on an individual. It's meant to make an example out of them to discourage similar behavior in the future... no?
So by this standard, HN should applaud prosecutions and searches under the new blasphemy laws in Ireland, because breaking the law is no different, no matter the law?
These headlines will typically turn into a cheercamp and I was just pointing that out. I probably worded it poorly but let's not applaud or boo at all.
It's really not hard to understand why seeing the "little" guy be attacked incites more popular anger than the reverse.