Foxconn Employees Arrested, Charged with Leaking iPad 2 Details
Citing a Chinese language sznews.com report, DigiTimes says the three men are accused of passing iPad 2 design details to third-party accessory companies in China. By doing so, online retailers were supposedly able to get a jump on Apple by selling iPad 2 protective gear before the iPad 2 was even released. These cases took into account the iPad 2's thinner profile, rear-facing camera, extended speaker grille, and the new location of the built-in microphone.
When revised iPad 2 cases began to appear on the market ahead of the second generation tablet's launch, Foxconn became suspicious of foul play and alerted local authorities. This ultimately led to the arrest of three employees charged with leaking the company's trade secrets.
Foxconn is a major supplier of Apple products, as well as for several other top tier companies. Back in 2009, Foxconn made headlines when a worker committed suicide after misplacing an unreleased iPhone 4 prototype. One of the sad realities is that Foxconn workers face intense pressure to keep up with the world's rabid demand for technology products. There were several reports in 2010 of Foxconn employees intentionally leaping to their death, prompting Apple, Dell, HP, and other clients to launch investigations into overseas working conditions.
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... WTF??? Wow working at foxconn really sucks! It was wrong for them to leak it, but is it really needed to arrest people for leaking the design to aid the making of a case??? Not like they are creating a whole new device or copy of it to sell... |
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I think its more about giving companies that they work for confidence that if they find out an employee of their company is giving out information it will not be taken lightly. |
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I understand that Foxconn must give its customers confidence that their trade secrets won't be revealed, but this company has troubled me ever since the suicide news broke in 2009. Things at Foxconn just seem too intense. What ever happened with the investigations from Apple, Dell, HP, and others? |
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I agree HHGrrl I personally don't like Foxconn, of course I don't like Apple either so it helps. Either way this was done in China which is if you did not know a Communist country. In a Communist country generally companies especially large ones if not tied to the government directly will still receive big benefits for the money which they bring to the country. So offenses against these companies is looked upon secondly as offenses against the country therefore the people. So these could even be capital offenses if they were big. Since these are basically light weight punishment's |
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I bet the investigations are "ongoing"... and probably buried, never to be uncovered. As for the leak of information, it is what it is. You get caught with your hand in the cookie jar, or cookie crumbs around you and too bad, so sad. Its just ridiculous that it happened over a CASE for the iPad. I can see the conversation now... Inmate 1 : "... I'm in for murdering someone..." Foxconn Guy : "Yeah, I leaked iPad 2 specs to a 3rd party accessory manufacturer" Inmates : *gasp* |
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So... is the only reason they're rabidly going after these leaks is that Apple wants you locked into buying their overpriced add-ons at launch? Why else would you consider such specs, which become public knowledge at launch, "trade secrets"? This isn't like a secret process of producing something, this is about blocking competition in an open environment. If Apple doesn't want Chinese companies to know the specs before launch, perhaps they should invest in their own manufacturing facilities stateside? |
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apple and foxconn, enslaving customers and employees. |
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