This is only the latest in a string of public and private lawsuits that have cost companies millions in fines, jury awards, and legal fees. An effective antitrust compliance program can help a company avoid the activities that give rise to antitrust litigation. Also, in the event that a company with a compliance program is sued, an antitrust compliance program can be used as evidence that the company was trying to follow the law, and may reduce the penalties imposed. Many companies have electronic bulletin boards which function much like chat rooms.
Employees post jokes, movie reviews, classified ads, and sometimes complaints about the company.
However, a recent development in the government's antitrust case against Microsoft shows how these boards can put a company at risk in the event of litigation. In what may be an effort to prove that management errors or weak products, not Microsoft Corp.'s alleged attempts to create a monopoly, caused demand for Netscape's Internet browser to decline, Microsoft has subpoenaed Netscape employees' internal electronic complaint forums, where workers can and do vent about their workplace, their products, and the cafeteria food. No company is free of internal disagreements about strategy, tactics, etc., but juries don't always realize this. A single email by a company employee, criticizing the company's policies, can impress a jury far out of proportion to its actual importance.