Category Archives: Theme Three: Compliance

“In SEC vs. Elon Musk, a Question of When Tweets Matter,” The Wall Street Journal, April 18, 2019.  Dispute over meaning of settlement agreement with SEC.

What does “reasonably could contain” material information mean?  Mr. Musk tweeted allegedly misleading tweets, and entered into a settlement with the SEC.

Lawyers apparently agreed to this language.  Does a dispute over meaning implicate Information Governance, and Compliance?  Mr. Musk has continuing legal exposure for future tweets.

Confusion in language is not a good thing.  Precision is.  Who governs the words you use in legal agreements?

“Volkswagen Ex-CEO Faces Fresh Fraud Charges Over Emissions Scandal,” The Wall Street Journal, April 16, 2019.  Prosecutors in Germany seek return of salary and bonuses, plus ten years.

The VW story has been going on for some time.  They used a software to alter emission testing results and got caught.  Billions (25+) of dollars later, prosecutors now try to recoup the salary paid to the CEO.

Should those being paid to provide governance have to forfeit their salaries if they provide “bad” governance after they learn of a problem?

While this is at its heart an Information story, where the company tried to fake information it was giving the government (and its customers), will it’s biggest impact be forcing Management to forfeit salary and bonus?

“Google Sued Over Abuse of Search Power, Opening Path for More Claims,” The Wall Street Journal, April 13, 2019.  Google accused of favoring its proprietary price comparison tool over that of a competitor.

Are governments starting to rein in the tech giants?  What does this tell us about the future?

Yes, this is information governance.  The German court is being asked to say how Google can and cannot use the searching protocols on its platform to deliver results.  The antitrust/competition laws are one of the controls on how Google uses information on its system.  It’s also Compliance, as Google is being accused of illegally using its market power to reduce competition.

“Test-Taking Whiz in College Admissions Scandal Pleads Guilty,” The Wall Street Journal, April 13, 2019.  Harvard grad would take SAT tests for others.

Apparently, someone can impersonate you and take “your” SAT test.

One suspects that the SAT folks are tightening the barn door.  And schools may be kicking out some loose horses.  Lots of different Information, Governance, and Compliance issues, at several different levels.

What information do you rely on when making decisions?  How important is it to you that that information is accurate?

“McKinsey Broke the Rules, Now It Wants to Rewrite Them,” The Wall Street Journal, April 12, 2019.  Company that was fined $32 million for failing to disclose conflicts to write the rules for industry.

It makes sense, in a strange way, to have the person who violated the existing rules and got caught, to write the new rules.  Who knows the loopholes better?

But why does a single federal judge get to make this decision for all the bankruptcy courts?  That’s the province of the Supreme Court.

So, Governance, Information, and, after a fashion, Compliance.

“Facebook Bends to EU Pressure on ‘Misleading’ Fine Print,” The Wall Street Journal, April 10, 2019.  Facebook challenged on its terms of service.

Facebook was forced to make its terms of service clearer on a critical point: how Facebook makes money off of your data.

Continuing theme of governments starting to get a grip on the major platforms.  So, Governance. And Information. And Compliance.  And major companies hiding things in plain sight.

“PG&E Among Utilities Cited for Failing to Protect Against Cyber and Physical Attacks,” The Wall Street Journal, April 10, 2019.  They allegedly broke the rules years ago.

What does it say when major utility companies don’t follow the rules on protecting themselves from cyberattack?  Is that a colossal Governance and Compliance issue?  Do they feel that the rules don’t apply to them?  Are they more like guidelines?  Is this a cultural issue?

“Amazon Wants You to Use Alexa to Track Health Care,” The Wall Street Journal, April 8, 2019.  Using Alexa allegedly meets HIPAA requirements.

How do you manage your health information?  Is that Information Governance?  Do you want to automate part of that?  How secure is Alexa?