La vigilancia va demasiado lejos

Sobre los años, el Wal-Centro comercial ha adquirido a muchedumbre creciente de críticos.

El marmotreto al por menor es regularmente la blanco de carteleras desfavorables, de los anuncios de periódico y por lo menos de un documentary crítico.

Está sorprendiendo tan apenas que el Bentonville, arca., la compañía intentaría protegerse contra los escapes y las interrupciones perjudiciales durante reuniones del accionista.

Como la compañía precisa, tomar tales medidas es solamente prudente.

Debe ser observado que los precios bajos de los Wal-Centros comerciales entregan ventajas verdaderas a los consumidores, especialmente las familias con rentas bajas. Esos precios bajos también ayudan a apisonar abajo de la tasa de inflación nacional.

But Wal-Mart went too far in its efforts to deal with critics. The work of the company’s Threat Research and Analysis Group, set up to counter problems such as leaked confidential memos, makes the company look downright paranoid.

Last month an employee was fired after phone calls from a New York Times reporter were intercepted along with pager messages. A subsequent Wall Street Journal story, quoting the fired worker and several Wal-Mart employees, shed light on the company’s extensive surveillance operations.

The Journal reported that those efforts involved infiltrating an anti-Wal-Mart group.

Other surveillance targets included company employees, activists, a consulting firm and certain investors, including the New York City controller’s office.

Wal-Mart says it has revised some of its practices since the unauthorized recordings were revealed. The company also says it did not act on a 2007 internal memo seeking a “threat assessment” of shareholders thought to be opposed to management policies.

The company is correct in noting that it has a responsibility to keep tabs on potential threats to its operations. But the issue here largely seems one of degree. As one security consulting executive told The Journal, Wal-Mart’s surveillance program seemed “Orwellian.”

The question of whether Wal-Mart snooped on activist shareholders was recently referred to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s New York office.

Wal-Mart’s board of directors should act on its own to help clear the air.

It should oversee its own investigation, find out how extensive the snooping was and then make those results public.

Comment on 'Surveillance goes too far' :

RSS TrackBack URL

Related News: