PHM-Exch> Nestle spied on campaigners

[Claudio Schuftan]

>From Baby Milk Action
Nestlé spied on campaigners - court orders companies to pay damages to
victims

Nestlé has been ordered by a Swiss court to pay damages and costs to
members of Attac Switzerland, after it infiltrated the group with spies who
reported to a former MI6 officer working for Nestlé. Securitas, which ran
the spies for Nestlé, has also been ordered to pay damages to the
campaigners.

One of the spies joined the editorial board for the book *Attac against the
Nestlé Empire* - Baby Milk Action spoke at the launch of the book in 2004
in Nestlé's home town of Vevey, Switzerland.

In typical media management style, Nestlé responded publicly to the court
order by saying it would study the Judge’s ruling and, *"If it should turn
out that a Nestlé employee had acted negligently, we shall take appropriate
measures."*

Fortunately *Le Courier* newspaper was not so naive as to fall for Nestlé's
spin that the spying operation may have been an the over-enthusiastic rogue
employee breaking the rules, commenting (26 January 2013):

*"One may recall that the [Nestlé] defense attorneys had worked diligently
to present the ATTAC members as potential criminals in order to better
justify 'the preventive observation' of their activities. They had also
declared that owing to their militant commitment, they could not 'claim
such an extended protection of the private sphere' as an ordinary citizen."*

In other words, Nestlé’s defense in court was campaigners are fair game to
be spied on. The Judge disagreed.

For a press release from Attac Switzerland on the spying operation that ran
from 2003 to at least 2008, see:
http://info.babymilkaction.org/pressrelease/
pressrelease26jan13attac<http://info.babymilkaction.org/pressrelease/pressrelease26jan13attac>

Although spying and then trying to excuse it in court is shocking, it is in
keeping with Nestlé's past and current behaviour.

For example, Nestlé is currently attempting to economically blackmail the
Philippines Government into weakening its baby milk marketing regulations,
just as it threatened Zimbabwe in the 1990s.

Last year Nestlé opened a special hi-tech centre at its headquarters to
monitor and respond to comments on the internet. In 2010 an online
marketing company claimed in its promotional materials that Nestlé was
paying its celebrity contacts US$10,000 a tweet for promoting Nestlé on
Twitter.

For Baby Milk Action's reaction, links to news reports and a reminder of
other past and present scandals involving Nestlé's use of the dark arts,
see:
http://info.babymilkaction.org/pressrelease/
pressrelease26jan13<http://info.babymilkaction.org/pressrelease/pressrelease26jan13>


<http://info.babymilkaction.org/pressrelease/pressrelease26jan13>
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