Apple spanked by judge in price-fixing injunction – but not too hard The federal judge overseeing the ebook price-fixing case between Apple and the US Department of Justice has issued her remedy, and although it slaps Cook & Co. upside the head, the DoJ didn't get all it wanted. After winning the case in Judge Denise Cote's court this July, the DoJ proposed a sweeping set of suggested remedies …
Cote ordered Apple to employ an "Antitrust Compliance Officer [ . . .] who will report to Apple's board on anything fishy they might uncover.
Not to the DoJ, but to Apple's board? And they will then stop that? Yeah, right.
And just to add a bit of icing to the compliance cake, Cote ordered Apple to annually inform its employees that if they come across any violation of either her Final Judgment or antitrust laws, they may bring such violations to the attention of the Antitrust Compliance Officer "without reprisal."
"It's not a punishment for telling on us, mate, really it isn't. But the restrooms do need cleaning now . . ."
I bet the Apple top management feels really whipped about all this.
Suspect if you look at the details you will find those officers will have an obligation to report jointly both to the DoJ and Apples board. I also suspect you dont know much about corporate governance.
Additionally you do know that any board has a legal obligation to respond to allegations of illegal activity right? Do you really think they are stupid enough to risk jail by ignoring said officer? Since their job essentially involves given Cook and Co their orders they dont have to actually do much to be seen as responding. It then becomes Cook's responsibility to resolve the issue, again potentially on the threat of jail time.
I'm having trouble getting my head around the idea that the injunction should impose time limits (and different ones for different publishers at that) on prohibiting the price fixing agreements. Surely they'll be just as illegal in 30 months or whatever as they apparently are now?
"I want this injunction to rest as lightly as possible on how Apple runs its business," she said
So just how blurred is justice when the beginning is forgotten? Why don't they just drop the whole lawsuit, and then Apple will run it's business the way they want, the way of the tyrant.
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"... if they come across any violation of either her Final Judgment or antitrust laws, they may bring such violations to the attention of the Antitrust Compliance Officer "without reprisal.""
Yeah... like "without reprisal" will be believed.
**huge** amount of evidence in public saying whistleblowers get shafted. So, basically this is screwed.
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