Here are some stories we had our eye on today:

The U.S. government and Facebook are negotiating a record, multibillion-dollar fine for the company’s privacy lapses

Washington Post, Tony Romm

The Federal Trade Commission and Facebook are negotiating over a multi-billion dollar fine that would settle the agency’s investigation into the social media giant’s privacy practices, according to two people familiar with the probe. The fine would be the largest the agency has ever imposed on a technology company, but the two sides have not yet agreed on an exact amount. Facebook has expressed initial concern with the FTC’s demands, one of the people said. If talks break down, the FTC could take the matter to court in what would likely be a bruising legal fight.

Amazon’s Retreat on New York City Headquarters Followed Unexpected Backlash

New York Times, J. David Goodman

Amazon on Thursday canceled its plans to build an expansive corporate campus in New York City after facing an unexpectedly fierce backlash from lawmakers, progressive activists and union leaders, who contended that a tech giant did not deserve nearly $3 billion in government incentives.

Here's How Normal People Beat Jeff Bezos and Amazon

Vice, Ankita Rao

One of the most powerful companies ever just bailed on plans to build a headquarters in NYC. It didn't happen by accident.

World’s Tax Collectors Look to Divvy Up Tech Giants’ Billions

Wall Street Journal, Sam Schechner, Paul Hannon and Richard Rubin

Nations to wrangle over where to assess profits of Facebook, Google and others

The EU Just Finalized Copyright Legislation That Rewrites the Rules of the Web

Gizmodo, Rhett Jones

For two years, the European Union has been mulling over a serious overhaul of its copyright laws. But last year, it became increasingly clear that key provisions in the looming copyright directive pose a serious threat to the free exchange of information online, the culture of fair use, and the ability of startups to compete. On Thursday, lawmakers finalized the text of the legislation, and unfortunately, there’s almost no good news.