I was blown away after reading TechCrunch's article on Foxconn's alleged crime against a Reuters reporter. Foxconn makes products for Apple, Sony, HP, Amazon, Nokia, Motorola, Nintendo, Microsoft, Dell and Cisco and take security very seriously. Apparently, this day, they took it too seriously.
A journalist was snapping pictures of the plant from a public road when he was assaulted by company guards for apparently trying to steal company secrets. When the police arrived to mediate the situation, the journalist was free to go. He was also given the choice to press charges if he wished, but the police said that Foxconn have special status in China - meaning that nothing would ever happen to the company if the journalist pursued the legal route.
I am all for company's protecting their IP and manufacturing processes, but this was a little too far. The man wasn't even on the company's property - he was merely taking pictures from the public road. The only way Foxconn will change its ways is if its clients put pressure on it to change its ways. The only way clients will put pressure on their respective suppliers is if people that buy the products (Apple, Sony, HP, Amazon, Nokia, Motorola, Nintendo, Microsoft, Dell and Cisco) start to boycott or limit their purchases. If this happens, these companies will face the same challenges Nike faced in the mid 1990s regarding the company's use of sweatshop labor.
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