Remember the Hewlett-Packard boardroom surveillance debacle?
The latest chapter in the saga is that a group of reporters and their family members, whose private phone records were secretly obtained in the scandal, are suing the tech giant and two former executives. They are alleging that HP's investigation tactics amounted to an invasion of privacy and a violation of state rules on business practices.
Before the suit was filed, HP said it apologized to the people affected by the spying and also made a settlement offer. The reporters nixed the offer and are suing, the Associated Press reported.
I worked with two of the reporters filing suit, Stephen Shankland and Dawn Kawamoto of CNET Network's
News.com. Shankland is one of the best reporters/cubicle mates ever, and it incenses me that he and his family had their privacy violated. Also suing is Rachel Konrad, an AP reporter, who is Shankland's wife. Konrad is also a CNET alum.
(I was hoping to get more of the story from Shankland, but he was unavailable.)
This HP case, and the increased frequency of reporters being killed, either in a war zone or on the mean streets of Oakland (as in the case of
gunned-down Oakland Post Editor Chauncey Bailey), has me concerned about the future of journalism and the safety of reporters.
Let's hope Shankland and crew get the type of settlement they deserve, a settlement that will send shock waves to big, paranoid companies.
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