iPod Factory Makes Even Apple's Treatment Of Bloggers Look Good

from the apparently dept

Tue, Aug 29th 2006 9:06pm — Mike Masnick

Over the last month or so there's been a bit of a controversy over whether or not a Chinese factory where iPods are made was something of a sweatshop. Apple investigated, and while they did find that some of the factory workers were overworked, they denied it qualified as a sweatshop. The company behind the factory, Foxconn, claimed it was vindicated, and suggested that it actually treats employees better than other factories in the area. So, with that out of the way, it seems Foxconn's decided the best course of action, rather than showing how well they treat their employees, is to destroy the lives of the reporters who originally claimed the factory had substandard working conditions. Not just sue them, but try to make their lives a living hell. They sued them for 500 times the average salary of a reporter, while also having their assets (including bank accounts) frozen. Even legal experts in China have claimed that the court's decision to freeze the assets is "absurd". The legal experts point out, first of all, that if the company has a problem with the report, they should sue the newspaper, not the reporters. Second, freezing the reporters' assets serves no reasonable purpose -- other than perhaps guaranteeing that reporters will think twice about ever reporting on substandard working conditions in China again.

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21 Comments

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Zane, 29 Aug 2006 @ 9:15pm

and here I thought
That it was just the RIAA having fun.
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Scott, 29 Aug 2006 @ 9:32pm

Serves them right
Ipods are expensive enough.. If stupid reporters muck it up so that they can't be made in sweatshops.. then ipods are going to cost $5000 a piece...

I think this should serve as a lesson to all reporters around the world... DONT GET IN THE WAY OF CONSUMER PRODUCTS!
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?, 29 Aug 2006 @ 9:38pm

Sounds like a normal way to deal with things in Ch
:)
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Sohrab, 29 Aug 2006 @ 9:46pm

so wait, who is doing the suing? Foxconn is or is Apple doing the suing.
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- Mike (profile), 29 Aug 2006 @ 10:44pm
  
  Re:
  Foxconn is suing. I've clarified in the post.
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MusicMan, 29 Aug 2006 @ 9:52pm

Apple has been chosing the number of mouse buttons, color of your machines, and limiting choice for years that they hate free speech is no surprise.. IT is a great irony that one of the biggest control freaks worse than Gates has been the hero of the "free thinkers" We all knew when Apple got some power if Jobs was in charge it would get scary ugly and it has.... Hile Jobs!!! Digital Facist..
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Danno, 29 Aug 2006 @ 10:14pm

Is Apple doing the suing, or is it the manufacturing company?

I'm not sure what Apple's relationship to the manufacturer is.
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MusicMan, 29 Aug 2006 @ 10:34pm

If Apple Cares
Simple if Apple doesn't like this.. they pull the contract..If they keep using the company.. they are paying the legal bills of the guys attacking free speech.
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Sohrab, 30 Aug 2006 @ 12:05am

thanks mike.
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Anonymous Coward, 30 Aug 2006 @ 12:32am

Sad Day
Well, we all know the only reason why the court allowed the accounts to be frozen is because foxconn paid someone, somewhere, with something. Now, if I was apple I would serisouly look at dropping them, because if I didn't then I would have to openly speak out against the lawsuit, to keep the "home" aspect they paid some much to get (in their ads)
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Anonymous Coward, 30 Aug 2006 @ 1:39am

Scott you are a fucking idiot. Just thought you should know.
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Boris Jacobsen, 30 Aug 2006 @ 1:45am

re: Anonymous Coward attacking Scott
Er... I think Scott was being ironic. Or maybe that's what you have a problem with.
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xaviertooth, 30 Aug 2006 @ 3:05am

it's rightful
Some journalists (?) today are unreliable and lazy i.e. Joystiq. I think this move will kick those reporters who just write from hearsays and digs from websites.
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Sanguine Dream, 30 Aug 2006 @ 6:56am

This isn't cool
This should cause Apple to pay closer attention to who they let manufacture their products. But in the end this story will fade away when Apple explains that they have nothing to do with the work conditions of the Foxconn plant(s).
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nxt, 30 Aug 2006 @ 7:41am

#1 employeer
We have shortened the length of our whips to 2/3 of their original length as well as daily working hours have been reduced from 27 hours/day to 22.5 hours. We have also found out, that feeding our employees at least once a day rapidly increases their productivity. The death toll has consequently fallen to 1 employee for finished 124 iPods. This makes us the number 1 employer among our local business rivals.
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- Chuck Norris' Enemy (deceased), 30 Aug 2006 @ 8:40am
  
  Re: #1 employeer
  That was an awsome thread!
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The Truth Beacon, 30 Aug 2006 @ 9:08am

Good job Foxconn!
Not that I like Foxconn, but when a reporter blatently publishes a falsified report, they should get this or worse. Look how much you retards have allowed reporters mislead you with things over here - to the point where some morons actually think that 9/11 was an inside job. Reporters should be held accountable for misdeeds more so than they are, so you should be glad that they are being hurt in a fashion similar to the damage they caused Foxconn...
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The Truth Beacon, 30 Aug 2006 @ 9:08am

Good job Foxconn!
Not that I like Foxconn, but when a reporter blatently publishes a falsified report, they should get this or worse. Look how much you retards have allowed reporters mislead you with things over here - to the point where some morons actually think that 9/11 was an inside job. Reporters should be held accountable for misdeeds more so than they are, so you should be glad that they are being hurt in a fashion similar to the damage they caused Foxconn...
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Linguistical, 30 Aug 2006 @ 1:14pm

Re: Good job Foxconn!
Wow, interesting name "Truth" Beacon. Afraid of free speech are we? It sounded like Apple's own investigation pointed out that working conditions were substandard. Apple stopped short of saying it was a sweatshop to save its own ass, not because it wasn't necessarily true. And, if Foxconn can justify substandard working conditions by saying, "Everybody else is worse..." then I think it's an even bigger bunch of morons who don't see the pseudo-reasoning of "2 wrongs make a right" (anybody taken a critical thinking class before?)

I agree that reporters shouldn't be reckless, but at the same time businesses should be much more afraid of being inhumane than reporters should be of pointing it out. Keep searching for your "truth", but know that when humanity is sacrificed for money everyone loses...even if it does allow you get your stupid-ass shit-pod for $400 instead of $800.
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Clarus the DogCow, 8 Aug 2007 @ 11:11am

This issue can be remedied
The iPod has always been manufactured by Foxconn, but was not always made in China. Up until the second-generation iPod mini, the product was produced at Foxconn plants in their home country of Taiwan. Taiwan has a much higher minimum wage, and claims of worker abuse would actually be dealt with instead of swept under the rug. The price of an iPod didn't decrease when production shifted to China. The price Apple pays Foxconn for an iPod probably didn't go down either. There are other manufacturers who could produce the iPod, and still avoid a major price increase.
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cassandra pitcher, 29 Apr 2008 @ 2:06pm

...
i would be willing to pay extra for music players, toys and clothes if i could trust that more of my money was going towards a higher salary for the people working in these "sweatshops".
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