Editing Oracle Corporation (section)

==Controversies==
===Trashgate===
In 2000, Oracle attracted attention from the [[computer industry]] and the press after hiring [[private investigator]]s to dig through the trash of organizations involved in an [[United States v. Microsoft Corp. (2001)|antitrust trial against Microsoft]].<ref>On July 3, 2007, SAP admitted that TomorrowNow employees had made "inappropriate downloads" from the Oracle support web site. However, it claims that SAP personnel and SAP customers had no access to Oracle intellectual property via TomorrowNow. SAP's CEO Henning Kagermann stated that "Even a single inappropriate download is unacceptable from my perspective. We regret very much that this occurred." Additionally, SAP announced that it had "instituted changes" in TomorrowNow's operational oversight
[https://archive.today/20120730204255/http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,1580029,00.asp Oracle Rethinks Its Dumpster-Diving Ways ] April 29, 2004, Lisa Vaas, eweek.com</ref> The Chairman of Oracle Corporation, Larry Ellison, staunchly defended his company's hiring of an East Coast detective agency to investigate groups that supported rival Microsoft Corporation during its antitrust trial, calling the snooping a "public service". The investigation reportedly included a $1,200 offer to janitors at the Association for Competitive Technology to look through Microsoft's trash. When asked how he would feel if others were looking into Oracle's business activities, Ellison said: "We will ship our garbage to Redmond, and they can go through it. We believe in full disclosure."<ref>[http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-6447631_ITM Swing Shift Column], ''San Jose Mercury News'' (San Jose, California) (via Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News) (December, 2000)</ref>

==="Can't break it, can't break in"===
In 2002, Oracle Corporation marketed many of its products using the slogan "Can't break it, can't break in", or "Unbreakable".<ref>{{Cite news |date=February 7, 2002 |title=Bugs bust open 'unbreakable' Oracle 9i |work=ZDNet |url=http://www.zdnet.co.uk/news/application-development/2002/02/07/bugs-bust-open-unbreakable-oracle-9i-2103903/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120308164139/http://www.zdnet.co.uk/news/application-development/2002/02/07/bugs-bust-open-unbreakable-oracle-9i-2103903/ |archive-date=March 8, 2012 |df=mdy-all}}</ref> This signified a claim of [[information security]]. Oracle Corporation also stressed the reliability of networked databases and network access to databases as major selling points.

However, two weeks after its introduction, [[David Litchfield]], Alexander Kornbrust, Cesar Cerrudo and others demonstrated a whole suite of successful attacks against Oracle products.<ref>{{Cite news |date=January 16, 2002 |title=Oracle security claim |work=The Register |url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2002/01/16/oracle_security_claim/}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=February 7, 2002 |title=How to hack unbreakable Oracle |work=The Register |url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2002/02/07/how_to_hack_unbreakable_oracle/}}</ref> Oracle Corporation's chief security officer [[Mary Ann Davidson]] said that, rather than representing a literal claim of Oracle's products' impregnability, she saw the campaign in the context of fourteen independent security evaluations<ref>{{cite web |title=Oracle list of major Security certifications |url=http://www.oracle.com/technology/deploy/security/seceval/pdf/seceval_matrix.pdf |publisher=Oracle Corporation}}</ref> that Oracle Corporation's database server had passed.

===Relationship with John Ashcroft===
In 2004, then-[[United States Attorney General]] [[John Ashcroft]] sued Oracle Corporation to prevent it from acquiring a multibillion-dollar intelligence contract. After Ashcroft's resignation from government, he founded a lobbying firm, [[The Ashcroft Group]], which Oracle hired in 2005. With the group's help, Oracle went on to acquire the contract.<ref>{{Cite news |date=January 10, 2006 |title=Ashcroft breaks with tradition by lobbying, has earned $269,000 |work=Chicago Tribune |url=http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2006/jan/1275410.htm}}</ref>

===Expeditionary Combat Support System===
[[Computer Sciences Corporation]], as the prime contractor, reportedly spent a billion dollars developing the [[Expeditionary Combat Support System]] for the [[United States Air Force]]. It yielded no significant capability, because, according to an Air Force source, the prime contractor "was simply not up to the task of adapting" the Oracle software, on which the system was based, to meet the specialized performance criteria.<ref>{{cite web |date=November 2012 |title=How the Air Force blew $1B on a dud system |url=http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2012/11/fed-how-airforce-blew-one-billion-dud-112612w/ |archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20130215172420/http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2012/11/fed-how-airforce-blew-one-billion-dud-112612w/ |archive-date=February 15, 2013 |access-date=April 17, 2015 |website=[[Air Force Times]]}}</ref>

===Cover Oregon Healthcare Exchange===
Oracle Corporation was awarded a contract by the State of Oregon's [[Oregon Health Authority]] (OHA) to develop [[Cover Oregon]], the state's healthcare exchange website, as part of the U.S. [[Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act]]. When the site tried to go live on October 1, 2013, it failed, and registrations had to be taken using paper applications until the site could be fixed.

On April 25, 2014, the State of Oregon voted to discontinue Cover Oregon and instead use the federal exchange to enroll Oregon residents.<ref>{{cite web |date=May 7, 2014 |title=Cover Oregon: State moves to federal exchange, but Oracle technology lives on |url=http://www.oregonlive.com/health/index.ssf/2014/05/cover_oregon_state_moves_to_fe.html |access-date=April 17, 2015 |website=The Oregonian}}</ref> The cost of switching to the federal portal was estimated at $5 million, whereas fixing Cover Oregon would have required another $78 million.

Oracle president [[Safra Catz]] responded to Cover Oregon and the OHA in a letter claiming that the site's problems were due to OHA mismanagement, specifically that a third-party [[systems integrator]] was not hired to manage the complex project.<ref>{{cite web |date=April 17, 2014 |title=Oracle blasts Oregon for spreading Cover Oregon 'false narrative' |url=http://www.oregonlive.com/health/index.ssf/2014/04/oracle_blasts_oregon_for_sprea.html |access-date=April 17, 2015 |website=The Oregonian}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=December 14, 2013 |title=Oregon health exchange technology troubles run deep due to mismanagement, early decisions |url=http://www.oregonlive.com/health/index.ssf/2013/12/oregon_health_exchange_technol.html |access-date=April 17, 2015 |website=The Oregonian}}</ref>

In August 2014, Oracle Corporation sued Cover Oregon for breach of contract,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Manning |first=Jeff |date=August 8, 2014 |title=Cover Oregon: Oracle comes out swinging, files lawsuit, accuses Kitzhaber of 'campaign' |work=Oregon Live |url=http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2014/08/oracle_cover_oregon_lawsuit.html |access-date=August 27, 2014}}</ref> and then later that month the state of Oregon sued Oracle Corporation, in a civil complaint for breach of contract, fraud, filing false claims and "[[racketeering]]".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gallagher |first=Sean |date=August 25, 2014 |title=Oregon Attorney General sues Oracle for 'racketeering activity' |work=[[Ars Technica]] |url=https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/08/oregon-attorney-general-sues-oracle-for-racketeering-activity/ |access-date=August 27, 2014}}</ref> In September 2016, the two sides reached a settlement valued at over $100 million to the state, and a six-year agreement for Oracle to continue modernizing state software and IT.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Foden-Vencil |first=Kristian |date=September 15, 2016 |title=Oregon, Oracle Reach $100 Million Settlement Over Cover Oregon Healthcare Exchange. News {{!}} OPB |work=Oregon Public Broadcast |url=http://www.opb.org/news/article/oregon-oracle-cover-oregon-healthcare-exchange/ |access-date=September 16, 2016 |archive-date=September 16, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160916193627/http://www.opb.org/news/article/oregon-oracle-cover-oregon-healthcare-exchange/ }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Lucas |first=Dan |title=Who's to blame for the Cover Oregon failure? |url=https://eu.statesmanjournal.com/story/opinion/columnists/dan-lucas/2016/05/31/blame-cover-oregon-failure/85174300/ |access-date=13 November 2020 |website=Statesman Journal}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Budnick and Manning |first=Nick and Jeff |date=March 19, 2014 |title=Oracle's Contracts for Cover Oregon Health Insurance Exchange Bypassed Standard Rules, Lacked Teeth |url=https://www.govtech.com/health/Oracles-Contracts-for-Cover-Oregon.html |access-date=13 November 2020 |website=www.govtech.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Turner |first=Grace-Marie |title=Oregon's Failed ObamaCare Exchange Is A Warning For Other States |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/gracemarieturner/2015/03/31/oregons-failed-obamacare-exchange-is-a-warning-for-other-states/?sh=fd5221425fdf |access-date=13 November 2020 |website=Forbes |language=en}}</ref>

{{Anchor|tracking class action}}

===Class action tracking lawsuit===
In August 2022, a [[Class-action lawsuit|class action lawsuit]] was filed against Oracle by the law firm [[Lieff Cabraser]]. The lawsuit alleges that Oracle engaged in "deliberate and purposeful surveillance of the general population via their digital and online existence", specifically focusing on Oracle operating a surveillance machine which tracks in real-time and records indefinitely the personal information of hundreds of millions of people. The litigants argues that through such surveillance, the company violates the [[Electronic Communications Privacy Act|Federal Electronic Communications Privacy Act]], [[Constitution of California|California's state constitution]], the California Invasion of Privacy Act, competition law, and [[Law of California|California Common Law]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Class-Action Lawsuit Accuses Oracle of Tracking 5 Billion People |url=https://www.pcmag.com/news/oracle-faces-class-action-lawsuit-over-tracking-5-billion-people |access-date=2022-08-24 |website=PCMAG |date=August 23, 2022 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Oracle Earns Billions Illegally Selling Net User Data, Suit Says - Law360 |url=https://www.law360.com/articles/1523379/oracle-earns-billions-illegally-selling-net-user-data-suit-says |access-date=2022-08-24 |website=www.law360.com |language=en}}</ref>

The lawsuit was settled in July 2024 when Oracle paid $115 million to some of its customers and agreed to stop tracking users.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schuman |first=Evan |title=Oracle's $115 million privacy settlement could change industry data collection methods |url=https://www.cio.com/article/3476784/oracles-115-million-privacy-settlement-could-change-industry-data-collection-methods.html |access-date=2024-09-10 |website=CIO |language=en}}</ref>

=== Heritage Foundation database of employees for Republican administration ===
In 2023, Oracle was contracted by conservative think tank [[The Heritage Foundation|Heritage Foundation]] to construct a database of conservative employees to help staff a prospective Republican presidency in 2025, part of the Foundation's [[Project 2025]].<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Swan |first1=Jonathan |last2=Haberman |first2=Maggie |date=2023-04-20 |title=Heritage Foundation Makes Plans to Staff Next G.O.P. Administration |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/20/us/politics/republican-president-2024-heritage-foundation.html |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Hosseini |first=Raheem |date=2024-08-15 |title=Why is Oracle assembling a secret database of Trump loyalists? |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/tech/article/project-2025-oracle-19654875.php |website=San Francisco Chronicle |language=en}}</ref>

=== Violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act ===

==== Africa ====
In August 2011, ''The Wall Street Journal'' reported that Oracle was being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for paying bribes to government officials in order to win business in Africa, in contravention of the [[Foreign Corrupt Practices Act]] (FCPA).<ref>{{Cite news |last=Farrar |first=James |date=August 31, 2011 |title=Oracle under fire over ethics again: Feds investigating bribery for business in Africa |url=http://www.zdnet.com/blog/sustainability/oracle-under-fire-over-ethics-again-feds-investigating-bribery-for-business-in-africa/1596 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110926144026/http://www.zdnet.com/blog/sustainability/oracle-under-fire-over-ethics-again-feds-investigating-bribery-for-business-in-africa/1596 |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 26, 2011 |access-date=June 15, 2013 |work=ZDNet}}</ref>

==== India ====
In 2012 Oracle agreed to pay about $2 million to the U.S. [[U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission|Securities and Exchange Commission]] (SEC). The SEC at the time alleged that the company's Indian subsidiary structured transactions with foreign governments in a way that enabled them to hold about $2.2 million of the proceeds inside funds that could be used for unauthorized purposes and therefore was a violation of the FCPA.<ref>{{Cite web |title=SEC.gov {{!}} SEC Charges Oracle Corporation With FCPA Violations Related to Secret Side Funds in India |url=https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2012-2012-158htm |access-date=2022-09-28 |website=www.sec.gov}}</ref>

==== India, Turkey, United Arab Emirates ====
In September 2022, Oracle settled with the U.S. [[U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission|Securities and Exchange Commission]] (SEC) without admitting or denying its findings, by agreeing to pay $23 million to settle the charges. The SEC announced that Oracle violated the FCPA between 2014 and 2019 when its subsidiaries in India, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) created slush funds to bribe foreign officials in order to win business.<ref>{{cite news |last=Stempel |first=Jonathan |date=September 27, 2022 |title=Oracle to pay about $23 mln to resolve a second SEC bribery case |url=https://www.reuters.com/legal/official-oracle-pay-about-23-mln-resolve-second-sec-bribery-case-2022-09-27/ |work=[[Reuters]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Kunert |first=Paul |title=Oracle pays $23 million to the SEC to settle bribery charges |url=https://www.theregister.com/2022/09/27/oracle_fined_23_million_sec/ |access-date=2022-09-28 |website=www.theregister.com |language=en}}</ref>

==== South African National Treasury contract and corruption probe ====
In 2017, a whistleblower notified the [[U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission|SEC]] and [[United States Department of Justice|US Department of Justice]], alleging possible violations of the [[Foreign Corrupt Practices Act]] in awarding of a {{ZARConvert|1|b|lk=on|year=2015}} contract by [[National Treasury (South Africa)|National Treasury]] in 2015.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-03-11 |title=Oracle 'no comment' on IFMS corruption allegations - TechCentral |url=https://techcentral.co.za/oracle-no-comment-on-treasury-corruption-allegations/178481/ |access-date=2024-04-02 |language=en-US}}</ref>

In March 2024, South Africa's [[Special Investigating Unit]] found that there were conflicts of interest, irregular processes, and non-compliance with policies and legislation, and said it would petition to blacklist Oracle in South Africa, cancel the contract and recover the money paid.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-03-28 |title=SIU takes aim at Oracle in treasury corruption probe - TechCentral |url=https://techcentral.co.za/siu-takes-aim-oracle-treasury-corruption/242189/ |access-date=2024-04-02 |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== Ownership of JavaScript trademark ===
In November 2024, Deno Land filed a petition with the [[US Patent and Trademark Office]] to cancel Oracle's registered trademark for "JavaScript" because it is "a generic term that Oracle has never controlled and thus isn't eligible under the law for trademark protection", "Oracle abandoned the JavaScript trademark because it doesn't actually use the term in any of the products or services it sells", and because Oracle made false statements when Oracle applied for the trademark.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Claburn |first=Thomas |date=26 November 2024 |title=Deno to USPTO: Drop Oracle's grip on 'JavaScript' trademark |url=https://www.theregister.com/2024/11/26/cancel_oracles_javascript_trademark_deno/ |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250119193436/https://www.theregister.com/2024/11/26/cancel_oracles_javascript_trademark_deno/ |archive-date=2025-01-19 |access-date=2025-02-15 |work=[[The Register]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Claburn |first=Thomas |date=17 September 2024 |title=Oracle urged again to surrender JavaScript trademark |url=https://www.theregister.com/2024/09/17/oracle_urged_to_surrender_javascript_trademark/ |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250212182718/https://www.theregister.com/2024/09/17/oracle_urged_to_surrender_javascript_trademark/ |archive-date=2025-02-12 |access-date=2025-02-15 |work=[[The Register]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Holterhoff |first=Kate |date=2024-12-16 |title=A RedMonk Conversation: Ryan Dahl on the Deno v Oracle Petition |url=https://redmonk.com/blog/2024/12/16/rmc-ryan-dahl-on-the-deno-v-oracle-petition/ |access-date=2025-02-15 |website=RedMonk |language=en-US}}</ref> In February 2025, Oracle denied all three claims.<ref>{{Cite news |date=February 5, 2025 |title=Oracle lays mines in JavaScript trademark battle |url=https://www.theregister.com/2025/02/05/oracle_dismissal_javascript_trademark_fraud/ |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250211222821/https://www.theregister.com/2025/02/05/oracle_dismissal_javascript_trademark_fraud/ |archive-date=2025-02-11 |access-date=2025-02-17 |work=[[The Register]] |language=en}}</ref>