http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2013/10/wolf-richter-nsa-revelations-kill-ibm-hardware-sales-in-china.html
Wolf Richter: NSA Revelations Kill IBM Hardware Sales in China
When many Americans are asked about the NSA issues they respond with "I have nothing to hide, so I don't care if they see my information." Well let's pose this question... If China or Russia were to steal and look at your personal information, would you reconsider the "I don't care" response? In recent years, the National Security Agency has been taking private information from millions of people throughout the world. Citizens in the Middle East, Asia, Russia, and various other areas were targeted. At this point you may be wondering where the economic impact arises. There is a profound impact on the American economy due to this recent "scandal" per se.
For example, tech companies are going to see dramatic issues arise in their sales and earnings reports. Two weeks after this article was written, IBM, a huge tech company, announced a poor earnings report to their shareholders, and reported yet another loss. The CFO of IBM announced the earnings, and in a series of questions as to why the poor numbers were back, alluded to the fact that he didn't know why sales of hardware in China were down 40 TO 50 PERCENT. Experts looked at the information reported by IBM and concluded that a dramatic drop of that sort doesn't just "happen." What the CFO of IBM was most likely not telling the public is that they were partnered with the NSA to collect information. When Edward Snowden leaked the information regarding the invasion of privacy, citizens in foreign nations were appalled. Governments of these nations began to tell citizens to not use "Gmail" and to not use products from companies mentioned in the reports (including IBM). Foreign sales have a HUGE impact on the financial prosperity of a company, and to destroy these foreign sales destroys profit, earnings reports, and consequentially, stock prices. This impact reverberates to executives, employees, and shareholders of the company. When the NSA decided to step over its bounds, the economic impact was felt by thousands of people across the country in the company and in the stock market.
- David Gerhart
I believe that it is important for the U.S. to be obtaining information from other countries. However I agree with you that stealing secrets from regular citizens of any countries is going beyond necessary. Also, the work necessary to do such things should not cost any group money without them being compensated.
ReplyDeleteWhile I believe that it is bad that IBM suffered a loss because of the NSA's acts, I also believe that this nation should be monitoring any suspicious communications that can be intercepted by the NSA. While it may be wrong to look through emails, texts, and social media, I think that America should be doing as much as it can to prevent any problems that may arise in the future.
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