CNET Reporters Intend to Sue HP Over Surveillance

theodp writes "The NY Times reports that three CNET journalists whose records, as well as those of their relatives, were scrutinized by pretexting investigators working for HP intend to sue the company for invasion of privacy. HP, who paid $14.5M to settle a lawsuit filed by the CA attorney general in connection with the spying, reportedly offered each reporter $10,000, roughly enough to cover legal bills. The CNET reporters have been banned from covering HP or its see-no-evil CEO, who BTW was rewarded with $20.33M in 2006 despite skipping his reading assignments."

Comments

HP's Actions Where Shameful

[WrongSizeGlass]

I'm betting HP settles these suits before more of their shenanigans are exposed in open court ... and before Hurd's actions (or lack thereof) are dragged through the mud again and he's forced to resign as well.

But HP have been spying for years

[therufus]

What about the "Backweb" software HP have been putting on their computers for the past decade? I actually questioned the product manager for HP Australia a few years back about the spyware HP ship with Pavilion and Presario home PC's and his answer was completely unsatisfactory. He said something to the effect of 'Backweb is designed to update customer's HP software remotely, including drivers, applications and other things. To my knowledge, this hasn't been implemented yet.

So the product manager of HP Australia not only doesn't know if it's been implemented yet, but he also is referring to something laying dormant for 10 years in their systems. Backweb software can potentially phone home and provide any and every detail about a customer. It's TSR, it's in memory ALL THE TIME, and hidden as a service.

It is so untrustworthy, HP themselves have renamed it in the add/remove programs as "Updates from HP" instead of backweb because customers thought it was spyware.

This latest development doesn't surprise me at all.

old rome....

[Himring]

CEO, who BTW was rewarded with $20.33M

Ah, for the days of rome, when the oligarchist would also be given 10 more personal legions....

Feels strange

[niceone]

Feels strange journalists suing for invasion of privacy - let's see: one bunch of people who invade people's privacy for money suing another bunch of people who invaded that first bunch of people's privacy for money for money.

(disclaimer: I used to work for hp back in the last century, although they never really asked me to be on the board or anything)