Exchanging information is a big part of knowledge management, and is generally viewed as good. Not so when the exchange is between competitors.
“U.S. Sues DirecTV, Alleging Collusion,” The Wall Street Journal, November 3, 2016 B1. DOJ sued, alleging unlawful information sharing between DirecTV and various other cable TV operators over whether they were going to pay to carry LA Dodger baseball games.
All dealings between horizontally aligned competitors are suspect. Sharing price information is illegal per se. But sharing “information” about whether you are going to do something can also be objectionable.
A former real estate agent who used to come into the restaurant where I worked before law school stood up at a trade association meeting and said something like “I don’t know what the rest of you are going to do, but I am holding firm at a 6% commission.” He then walked out. He was convicted of price fixing.
Is this an antitrust or compliance issue or an information governance issue? Does it matter?
infogovnuggets 