Journalists Plan to Sue H-P for Privacy Invasion

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Journalists Plan to Sue H-P for Privacy Invasion

Posted May 7, 2007, 09:19 am CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss

Three journalists plan to sue Hewlett-Packard for invading their privacy by scrutinizing their phone records, according to their lawyer.

The reporters work for the online technology news company CNet Networks, according to the New York Times. Other journalists are in settlement talks with the company.

Company investigators are alleged to have misrepresented their identities to obtain the records from the phone company, a practice known as pretexting, as part of an investigation into media leaks.

In December, H-P agreed to pay $14.5 million to settle a civil suit filed by the California attorney general in connection with the scandal. In January, an investigator pleaded guilty to using fraud and deceit to obtain the records, according to a press release. The Times reports, however, that charges against the company's former chairwoman were dismissed in March and charges against three others were reduced to misdemeanors.

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