SEC looking into Apple’s disclosures on Steve Jobs’ health
The Securities and Exchange Commission is scrutinizing Apple’s disclosures about Steve Jobs’ health, Bloomberg reported.
In particular, the SEC is looking at how Jobs’ condition changed from the description of “relatively simple” to “more complex” in the course of nine days back in January. The law is murky on whether companies have to disclose matters about a CEO’s health, so the Apple case is likely to be closely watched throughout industry.
Jobs announced on Jan. 14 that he had a hormone imbalance and then said on Jan. 14 that he would be on medical leave for five and a half months. Jobs then had his liver transplant, which the Wall Street Journal reported well after it happened.
Bloomberg said in its story that the review doesn’t mean the SEC will accuse Jobs or the company of any wrongdoing. It also said that Apple’s lead directors, Art Levinson and Bill Campbell, were being briefed by Jobs’s doctors on his condition. Apple and the SEC declined comment to Bloomberg. At issue is Jobs’ right to privacy and the investors’ right to know what is happening with a key leader at Apple.
Jobs returned to work last week. Apple did fine in the meantime. That suggests that Jobs’ health isn’t as relevant to the company’s outcome as some might believe.
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About the Author, Dean Takahashi
Dean is lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat. He covers video games, security, chips and a variety of other subjects. Dean previously worked at the San Jose Mercury News, the Wall Street Journal, the Red Herring, the Los Angeles Times, the Orange County Register and the Dallas Times Herald. He is the author of two books, Opening the Xbox and the Xbox 360 Uncloaked. Follow him on Twitter at @deantak, and follow VentureBeat on Twitter at @venturebeat.