With the SEC reportedly looking into Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL)'s disclosures about Steve Jobs' health, an interesting philosophical question is raised: Do the rights of Apple shareholders to timely disclosures about material risk factors trump Jobs' right to privacy about his medical situation?"They're delving into a sensitive area that's very uncommon," Lisa Casey , an associate professor of securities law at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana told Bloomberg. "Health is that last little area of privacy," she said.
The debate about how much companies should disclose is an interesting one but in the case of Apple, it's a much simpler issue: Did Apple knowingly mislead investors when it announced that Jobs needed "relatively simple" treatment for a nutritional ailment, nine days before he announced a leave of absence that sent the stock plunging?
If so, then the right to privacy argument is irrelevant. If Apple wants to keep Jobs' health matters private, than it should just tell Wall Street that "Mr. Jobs wishes for his health issues to remain private and that's really all that we can say about that. Caveat emptor." There doesn't appear to be anything in securities law to prevent them from doing that. But there is plenty in securities law to prevent the company from saying things that just ain't so.
By issuing reassuring press releases, Apple may have gotten itself in hot water if it can somehow be demonstrated that the company was deliberately misleading investors by withholding information.
But I somehow doubt the SEC will be able to do that.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-30-2009 @ 6:48PM
ebolt said...
Why don't you put it up to the shareholders? I am one. I feel that Jobs' health is a private matter. The future success of Apple has been charted and the compass... Jobs' vision. The company understands the vision. The future is bright for Apple, even if Jobs is not at the helm.
1-30-2009 @ 6:58PM
Kent R in Aurora said...
The economy is collapsing - except one company. Shareholders of century old financial institutions have their holding wiped out. Billion dollars ripoffs by con artists working under the nose of the SEC. And the SEC decides to investigate the health disclosures of Steve Jobs - a known cancer victim, who all know could die at any time, while his company is outperforming the rest of the tech sector by leaps and bounds. Government is run by morons. The best government is the least government. Someone give the SEC a clue.
2-01-2009 @ 1:27PM
r said...
" Why don't you put it up to the shareholders? I am one. I feel that Jobs' health is a private matter. "
So am I and I second that.
I'm sure most Apple "INVESTORS" will concur. Screw the short sellers that perpetuate this garbage!