Bloggers Beware! Courts After Your Sources! - GoFuckYourself.com

Greg B · 03-04-2005, 12:30 PM

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4319715.stm
'Blogger fear' in Apple leak case

The ruling could be a blow for bloggers
Three blogs which published sensitive information about upcoming Apple products could be made to disclose where the leaks came from.
A California judge said in a preliminary ruling that bloggers should not have the same protection afforded to journalists under US law.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), representing the sites, said it was disappointed with the ruling.

The case's outcome could be far-reaching for bloggers and writers.

The civil liberties group EFF had asked California's Superior court to stop Apple pursuing the blogs' sources in February.

Given that so many journalists correspond with their sources via e-mail, this would severely undermine those journalists' abilities to guarantee their sources any kind of confidentiality

Annalee Newitz, EFF
The tentative ruling serves as an early indication of which way the court is leaning and is not the final ruling, Annalee Newitz, EFF policy analyst, told the BBC News website.

"What's at stake here is whether online and independent journalists will be granted the same rights as ones from traditional media," Ms Newitz said.

She added that if the court's final decision stood, it would mean net service providers would be obliged to hand over bloggers' details in future legal cases.

"Given that so many journalists correspond with their sources via e-mail, this would severely undermine those journalists' abilities to guarantee their sources any kind of confidentiality," she said.

Over four months, Apple has filed against PowerPage, Apple Insider and Think Secret to find out how the websites obtained details of unreleased products, code-named Asteroid and Q97.

Public interest

The EFF argued that those writing for blogs, websites which increasingly act as "unofficial" news sources, should get the same First Amendment and California Shield Law protection as journalists.

It is designed to protect journalists from being forced to reveal the names of sources or supply unpublished materials, if the matter reported is in the public's interest.

The lawsuits were filed by Apple just weeks before the MacWorld conference in San Francisco which is used to showcase new products.

Apple is famously secretive about its future product launches while Apple users are equally famous for speculating about new technology from the company.

In December 2002, Apple sued a former contractor who allegedly posted online drawings, images and engineering details of the company's PowerMac G4 computer.

Apple was not immediately available for comment.

deleteduser · 03-04-2005, 12:34 PM

thanks for the info!

borked · 03-04-2005, 02:13 PM

this is like a 2-month's old news. Damn, the Beeb are on the button!

see the original:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/01...ink_litigious/

and more recently, the story that the Apple founder Woz appeals for Apple to stop this stupid futile child-game
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/02...stop_bullying/

borked · 03-04-2005, 04:07 PM

never mind

03-04-2005, 12:30 PM	#1
Greg B So Fucking Banned Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: EARTH (for the time being) Posts: 7,014	Bloggers Beware! Courts After Your Sources! http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4319715.stm 'Blogger fear' in Apple leak case The ruling could be a blow for bloggers Three blogs which published sensitive information about upcoming Apple products could be made to disclose where the leaks came from. A California judge said in a preliminary ruling that bloggers should not have the same protection afforded to journalists under US law. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), representing the sites, said it was disappointed with the ruling. The case's outcome could be far-reaching for bloggers and writers. The civil liberties group EFF had asked California's Superior court to stop Apple pursuing the blogs' sources in February. Given that so many journalists correspond with their sources via e-mail, this would severely undermine those journalists' abilities to guarantee their sources any kind of confidentiality Annalee Newitz, EFF The tentative ruling serves as an early indication of which way the court is leaning and is not the final ruling, Annalee Newitz, EFF policy analyst, told the BBC News website. "What's at stake here is whether online and independent journalists will be granted the same rights as ones from traditional media," Ms Newitz said. She added that if the court's final decision stood, it would mean net service providers would be obliged to hand over bloggers' details in future legal cases. "Given that so many journalists correspond with their sources via e-mail, this would severely undermine those journalists' abilities to guarantee their sources any kind of confidentiality," she said. Over four months, Apple has filed against PowerPage, Apple Insider and Think Secret to find out how the websites obtained details of unreleased products, code-named Asteroid and Q97. Public interest The EFF argued that those writing for blogs, websites which increasingly act as "unofficial" news sources, should get the same First Amendment and California Shield Law protection as journalists. It is designed to protect journalists from being forced to reveal the names of sources or supply unpublished materials, if the matter reported is in the public's interest. The lawsuits were filed by Apple just weeks before the MacWorld conference in San Francisco which is used to showcase new products. Apple is famously secretive about its future product launches while Apple users are equally famous for speculating about new technology from the company. In December 2002, Apple sued a former contractor who allegedly posted online drawings, images and engineering details of the company's PowerMac G4 computer. Apple was not immediately available for comment.

03-04-2005, 12:34 PM	#2
deleteduser Confirmed User Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Europe Posts: 2,218	thanks for the info! __________________ ICQ #58981463 Promote my PornAccess Site: 2Chicks1Dick

03-04-2005, 02:13 PM	#3
borked Totally Borked Industry Role: Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 6,284	this is like a 2-month's old news. Damn, the Beeb are on the button! see the original: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/01...ink_litigious/ and more recently, the story that the Apple founder Woz appeals for Apple to stop this stupid futile child-game http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/02...stop_bullying/ __________________ For coding work - hit me up on andy // borkedcoder // com (consider figuring out the email as test #1) All models are wrong, but some are useful. George E.P. Box. p202

03-04-2005, 04:07 PM	#4
borked Totally Borked Industry Role: Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 6,284	never mind __________________ For coding work - hit me up on andy // borkedcoder // com (consider figuring out the email as test #1) All models are wrong, but some are useful. George E.P. Box. p202 Last edited by borked; 03-04-2005 at 04:08 PM..