Slashdot Mirror
Journalists Sue HP For Invasion of Privacy
Stony Stevenson writes "Four journalists and one of their family members are suing Hewlett-Packard for obtaining their personal phone records. The journalists filed lawsuits in California this week, claiming that HP invaded their privacy, intentionally inflicted emotional distress, and violated California's fair business rules. HP acknowledged in a US Securities and Exchange Commission filing last year that it investigated journalists in order to find out who inside the company had been leaking information to the press. The reporters' own publications have reported that HP representatives said they were disappointed the reporters did not take a settlement and decided to sue instead. The company said it plans to defend itself against the lawsuits."
Whenever a corporation or corporate agent does something morally questionable, there's always apologists claiming it was necessary in order to show due diligence to the profitability of the company and interests of the share holders. I pitty those corporate officers who are unable to form an argument against sleezy behavior for fear of being run on a rail in to court. It must be tough for them. They should be quietly cheering this lawsuit. If successful, it'll make a great argument. When asked to something reprehensible, the cornered agent can note "look at what happened to HP - do we really want to take that kind of risk?" And voila - they're not putting morals above profit... they're being fiduciarily responsible.