Computer giant Hewlett-Packard Co (HP) has agreed to pay US$14.5 million to settle civil charges linked to a boardroom espionage scandal, California state officials said on Thursday.
State Attorney General Bill Lockyer said most of the money will be paid into a new law enforcement fund "to fight violations of privacy and intellectual property rights, and adopt corporate governance reforms."
The deal resolves the liability of the world's second biggest computer maker over the scandal, in which private investigators hired by the firm obtained the telephone records of nine journalists, two HP workers, and seven current or former board members in an effort to find the source of boardroom leaks.
The agreement does not affect a criminal case against HP's ousted chairwoman Patricia Dunn and four others, Lockyer said.
"The Hewlett-Packard incident has helped shine a national spotlight on a major privacy protection problem," Lockyer said in a statement.
"Fortunately, Hewlett-Packard is not Enron. I commend the firm for cooperating instead of stonewalling, for taking instead of shirking responsibility, and for working with my office to expeditiously craft a creative resolution," he said.
The settlement requires HP to pay US$13.5 million to a new "privacy and piracy fund" for law enforcement activities related to privacy and intellectual property rights.
Additionally, HP will pay US$650,000 in civil penalties and US$350,000 to cover the attorney general's investigation and other costs.
Mark Hurd, HP's chief executive who assumed the role of chairman after Dunn was ousted, said the company agreed to corporate governance reforms in addition to the monetary penalties.
"We are pleased to settle this matter with the attorney general and are committed to ensuring that HP regains its standing as a global leader in corporate ethics and responsibility," he said.
HP said there was "no finding of liability" against the company as part of the settlement.
Dunn and former ethics lawyer Kevin Hunsaker resigned from HP in September amid the controversy about unethical and potentially illegal tactics used to expose a board member who had been leaking secrets to news reporters.
Dunn was among HP executives grilled by incredulous members of Congress at a hearing in Washington. She repeatedly denied endorsing any wrongdoing.
Hunsaker was one of 10 former HP executives and outside private detectives who declined to testify before Congress.
Criminal charges are still pending against Dunn and Hunsaker along with Ronald DeLia, who headed an outside security firm used by HP and two employees of Florida-based information broker Action Research Group.
As part of the deal announced on Thursday, HP agreed to appoint a new independent director to serve as the board's watchdog on compliance with ethical and legal rules. It also agreed to allow its chief ethics and compliance officer to have expanded oversight and reporting duties.
SILICON VALLEY HUB: The office would showcase Taiwan’s strengths in semiconductors and artificial intelligence, and help Taiwanese start-ups connect with global opportunities Taiwan has established an office in Palo Alto, one of the principal cities of Silicon Valley in California, aimed at helping Taiwanese technology start-ups gain global visibility, the National Development Council said yesterday. The “Startup Island Taiwan Silicon Valley hub” at No. 299 California Avenue is focused on “supporting start-ups and innovators by providing professional consulting, co-working spaces, and community platforms,” the council said in a post on its Web site. The office is the second overseas start-up hub established by the council, after a similar site was set up in Tokyo in September last year. Representatives from Taiwanese start-ups, local businesses and
EXPRESSING GRATITUDE: Without its Taiwanese partners which are ‘working around the clock,’ Nvidia could not meet AI demand, CEO Jensen Huang said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and US-based artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer Nvidia Corp have partnered with each other on silicon photonics development, Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said. Speaking with reporters after he met with TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) in Taipei on Friday, Huang said his company was working with the world’s largest contract chipmaker on silicon photonics, but admitted it was unlikely for the cooperation to yield results any time soon, and both sides would need several years to achieve concrete outcomes. To have a stake in the silicon photonics supply chain, TSMC and
‘DETERRENT’: US national security adviser-designate Mike Waltz said that he wants to speed up deliveries of weapons purchased by Taiwan to deter threats from China US president-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for US secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, affirmed his commitment to peace in the Taiwan Strait during his confirmation hearing in Washington on Tuesday. Hegseth called China “the most comprehensive and serious challenge to US national security” and said that he would aim to limit Beijing’s expansion in the Indo-Pacific region, Voice of America reported. He would also adhere to long-standing policies to prevent miscalculations, Hegseth added. The US Senate Armed Services Committee hearing was the first for a nominee of Trump’s incoming Cabinet, and questions mostly focused on whether he was fit for the
INDUSTRIAL CLUSTER: In Germany, the sector would be developed around Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s plant, and extend to Poland and the Czech Republic The Executive Yuan’s economic diplomacy task force has approved programs aimed at bolstering the nation’s chip diplomacy with Japan and European nations. The task force in its first meeting had its operational mechanism and organizational structure confirmed, with Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) the convener, and Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) and Minister Without Portfolio Ma Yung-cheng (馬永成) the deputy conveners. Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) would be the convener of the task force’s strategy group in charge of policy planning for economic diplomacy. The meeting was attended by the heads of the National Development Council, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the
RSS