Record Seagate enforcement a reminder it doesn’t matter if you think you’re right
By 
Kyle Brasseur2023-05-01T16:22:00
Any compliance officer will tell you the best way to assess the risk of a certain matter is to think about it from a regulatory perspective.
“‘What would the Department of Justice think if we did this? Would this violate any laws or restrictions?’” If the answers to these questions aren’t clear, it’s often advised to err on the side of caution.
Seagate did not when it decided in 2020 to continue selling hard disk drives to Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei after the latter had certain export restrictions placed on it by the Commerce Department. The data storage company was fined $300 million—the largest stand-alone administrative penalty in the history of the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS)—for this miscalculation.
Related articles
-
Basic PageConsumer electronic supply chain at risk, FCC says in proposing new rules
Thousands of computers and other consumer electronic devices imported into the U.S. that were certified as safe by foreign laboratories have been identified as having links to the Chinese government or military, Brendan Carr, chair of the Federal Communications Commission, said Thursday in announcing an order to close the security ...
-
News BriefEx-Apple engineer charged with theft of trade secrets in DOJ sweep
A new strike force co-led by the Department of Justice and Commerce Department made an impact when charges against a former Apple engineer for theft and attempted theft of trade secrets were included as part of its first enforcement actions.
-
News BriefSeagate fined record $300M over export business with Huawei
Seagate will pay the largest stand-alone administrative penalty in the history of the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security for violating export control restrictions against Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei.
More from Opinion
-
OpinionThe AI audit burden: Why ‘Explainable AI’ is the key
AI decisions are only defensible when the reasoning behind them is visible, traceable, and auditable. Explainable AI delivers that visibility, turning black-box outputs into documented logic that compliance officers can stand behind when regulators, auditors, or stakeholders demand answers.
-
OpinionTurning compliance into a competitive advantage in defense tech
For emerging defense tech companies to take full advantage of acquisition reforms and increased funding, they will need to overcome a defining feature of the U.S. defense industry: It is highly regulated, and will likely remain so.
-
OpinionThe rise of the AI compliance officer
As AI reshapes business operations and regulators move quickly, companies increasingly need a dedicated AI compliance officer to ensure ethical, transparent, and accountable deployment.