The Corporate Veil: Group Deception by Omission

The Purdue Pharma scandal, in which executives engaged in fraudulent and aggressive marketing campaigns for prescription opioids, exemplifies a corporate failure that raises fundamental questions about group responsibility. This article argues that Purdue Pharma’s failure to inform customers, salespeople, and doctors about the harmful effects of their flagship product, OxyContin, constitutes group deceptive omission—a distinct form of deception inadequately addressed in existing accounts of corporate viciousness. Building on Jennifer Lackey’s epistemological framework of group lying, I refine the concept of group deception to account for omissions in corporate contexts. My analysis extends beyond individual deception, emphasising what is required for organisations to deceive through silence. I further argue that corporations should be positively honest and, in so doing, avoid problematic deceptive omissions, given their unique epistemic position in shaping stakeholder trust and market integrity. This article ends by outlining directions for future research on epistemological questions implicated in understanding corporate responsibility.