Troubles That Money Can’t Dispel: News Corp settles hacking suit, buys company

[cal04]

Thanks to thinkprogress on twitter
http://twitter.com/#!/thinkprogress

News Corp paid $29.5M to settle its U.S. computer hacking lawsuit, then bought the company that sued them http://thkpr.gs/nsK9R3

MUST READ: In 2009, News America, a US subsidiary of News Corp was sued 4 hacking into a competitors' computer

Troubles that Money Can't Dispel

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/18/business/media/for-news-corporation-troubles-that-money-cant-dispel.html?_r=2&pagewanted=all&seid=auto&smid=tw-NYTimesAd

In 2006 the state of Minnesota accused News America of engaging in unfair trade practices, and the company settled by agreeing to pay costs and not to falsely disparage its competitors.

In 2009, a federal case in New Jersey brought by a company called Floorgraphics went to trial, accusing News America of, wait for it, hacking its way into Floorgraphics’s password protected computer system.

The complaint stated that the breach was traced to an I.P. address registered to News America and that after the break-in, Floorgraphics lost contracts from Safeway, Winn-Dixie and Piggly Wiggly.

Much of the lawsuit was based on the testimony of Robert Emmel, a former News America executive who had become a whistle-blower. After a few days of testimony, the News Corporation had heard enough. It settled with Floorgraphics for $29.5 million and then, days later, bought it, even though it reportedly had sales of less than $1 million.

[Scuba]

1. Too bad the US doesn't have some sort of "justice department" to investigate these things. n/t

[Sarah Ibarruri]

2. True. The U.S. has no justice dept since the Repigs have been the trend for the past 31 years

They make me sick.

[beac]

3. K&R n/t

[Stuart G]

4. k and r..outstanding article..nt