AMD NDA Scandal

crazyeyes writes "Just two weeks ago, a Thai journalist walked out of the hush-hush AMD event in Singapore over a controversial NDA that required him to 'send any stories to the vendor before his newspaper can publish it.' AMD categorically denied it happened, but today, we not only have proof that it happened, we also have the sordid details of the entire affair. Here's a quote from the editorial: 'First off, the non-disclosure agreement covered everything confidential said or written over the next two years on the product, and had a duration of five years, during which anything published or used in marketing would have to receive written approval from AMD before it could be used. Worse, at the end of the five years, all copies of the information made would have to be returned to the chipmaker.'"

AMD is the new MS?

[evil_aar0n]

I didn't think AMD had reached a level where they could pull MS or Intel-type crap like this. Or are they getting too big for their britches?

A whole new low

[DaMattster]

This is a whole new low for AMD, an overt lie and being caught at it. I am really disappointed. I would have expected better from a company that previously worked so well with open source and the media.

Back to school for you!

[ColdWetDog]

You are also forgetting the NDA is excluding basic human rights organized by the constitution, one of which is the freedom of the press.

Did you sleep all the way through your civics classes? "Freedom of the press" refers to prohibitions by the U.S. Federal government concerning what journalists can publish. Private entities are "free" to restrict how their own confidential information is dispersed.

You really need to get out more often.

Re:another example

[PCM2]

AMD sucks, the reporter is a hero, and you can't read (or spell).

Right. The guy accepted a vacation package paid for by AMD, showed up at a fluff PR event in Singapore, then went home without any story at all. What a hero. He better buy a second phone right away, or else the New York Times hiring office might not be able to get through the busy signal.

Reading between the lines

[5pp000]

I think the reason this story is interesting is the hint it gives that AMD is having real trouble getting working Barcelona parts in any volume. Looks to me like they set this thing up because they either hoped to have good news, and then didn't, or because they just want to try to distract people from the Barcelona delays. Either way, seems like baaaaaad news.

All I can say is, I hope they pull out of this.

Re:Wrong Scandal

[PCM2]

In the UK, and other countries where budgets are tighter, freebies often are accepted. The UK journalists I know who do accept freebies would be adamant that they only accept ones that have true editorial interest and would also argue that it doesn't influence their writing. For the average staff writer that's probably correct - they don't know, or care who is paying for the flight.

In the latter case then that seems fair enough, provided the editor who accepted the package isn't going to put pressure on the writer to spin the story a certain way. I'd argue that the U.S. system is superior, though. I think you would be surprised what a lot of reporters in the U.S. actually earn, based on your comment about budgets, but they're encouraged to pay for their own hamburgers anyway.

Then again, if you're really broke, but your profession is such that people are always dangling freebies in your face, that encourages corruption. If your company has a policy that you can accept gifts "as long as it doesn't influence your work," then in a sense I suppose that can help let off some of the pressure of temptation. I can see it both ways.

kdawson

[uofitorn]

Seriously, who is this guy? All he ever does is post stories that link to sketchy blog postings that tend to bash MS and other big corporations. I'll be amazed when I see a story by him that contains some actual substance.

Re:If the journalist was stupid enough to sign it.

[NMerriam]

Sorry, still doesn't make an sense.

I'm not sure how you think that AMD requiring reporters to submit stories for approval fits into my free press. Is AMD the editor or the publisher?

Re:If the journalist was stupid enough to sign it.

[Anonymous Coward]

'or' is just a way to factor a sentence much like you would factor an equation. 'publish or used in marketing' can be split into two ideas, 'published in marketing' and 'used in marketing'. 'published in marketing' makes no sense while 'used in marketing' does and additionally implies additional actions beyond publishing.

Because 'publish in marketing' does not make sense, 'used' must be bound to 'in marketing' and the meaning of the phrase becomes 'publish' OR 'used in marketing'.

What scandal?! Where?!?

[mooreti1]

An NDA by a chipmaker is considered a scandal? Really? Watergate; that was a scandal! My mother smoking my stash in high-school while I was in class? THAT was a (horribly ironic) scandal! But this? This isn't a scandal. It's barely news. And, no, it does not, in any way, impinge your constitutional right. If you don't believe look it up on the...wait for it...'Net somewhere.

Too little, too late

[billcopc]

Intel has had quad-core processors since November 2006, 10 months ago! Why would AMD need to keep Barcelona's release details a secret, when every single AMD fan has been waiting over a year for this damned thing ? It's hardly a secret, as they've already told almost everything to the press in August, when they were desperately trying to counter the mass exodus that resulted from Intel's staggering July price drop.

As a former AMD "fanboy", I'm not impressed. Quad-FX is embarrassing, and Barcelona is lackluster. Meanwhile Intel has been scaling their Core 2 Extreme to 3 ghz and still has good headroom on existing designs. Barcelona needs to start way higher than 2.0ghz to turn any heads, as people will just stick with the cheaper Opteron until the cost-per-GFLOP becomes more competitive.

Re:If the journalist was stupid enough to sign it.

[MidnightBrewer]

They do usually say that, yes. However, if you fail to neglect to say who you signed the NDA with, who's to say you're talking about the same one? "Oh, the one I was talking about was with *another* company. I can't tell you who, though, because I'm bound by an NDA."