Protect Your CEO

Amusing April Fool's Day feature on the Motley Fool yesterday, a "CEO Bill of Rights."

Section 7, described by TMF's Seth Jayson as "The Byrne Provision," is entitled "Assurance of Press Respect":

. . . It establishes a new standard for criticism of CEOs and their corporations. Insofar as a CEO believes he, or his company, has been defamed by any natural person or entity, truth is no longer a universal defense against such defaming expression. The courts may now allow damages against those who criticize CEOs in a fashion which "is unduly harsh, neglects to accentuate the positive, or is likely to cause financial loss to the CEO, corporation, or its stockholders, whether such criticism is delivered by the press, a natural person, or other entity."

Funny as it is, this parody delivers a serious message, which is that CEO hubris and misconduct have returned to pre-Enron levels.

The full text of this landmark legislation is here.

© 2007 Gary Weiss. All rights reserved.

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Wall Street Versus America was published by Penguin USA on April 6.
Click here for its Amazon.com listing and here for more information on the book, from my web site, gary-weiss.com.