Apple and CIA leak case
p2pnet.net News:- Apple’s wormy efforts to get three online journalists to hand over the names of confidential sources so it can take disciplinary measures of its own won’t be helped by a recent, highly controversial US court decision.
The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has held two US reporters in contempt because they wouldn’t say who gave them the name of a covert CIA agent.
Last year Apple won a court order allowing it to issue subpoenas aimed at discovering the IDs of 20 John Does it says gave information about ‘secret’ Apple products to AppleInsider.com and PowerPage.org.
EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) lawyer Kurt Opsahl is among those acting for the three people Apple is trying to intimidate. The EFF argues the writers are protected by the same reporter’s privilege laws that (used to) cover print journalists from having to disclose the IDs of anonymous sources.
Will the appeals court ruling mean Apple will now be able to have its way with the trio?
No, Opsahl told p2pnet.
“ The decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals is limited to criminal investigations, where there are different issues at play.
“This is a civil case.”
“There is substantial evidence that Karl Rove was the person responsible for ‘leaking’ her undercover CIA identity to the press as revenge for her husband – Ambassador Joseph Wilson – having the nerve to publish a damaging (to the Bush regime) report that solidly refuted Bush’s assertions about Iraqi weapons,” says a p2pnet reader.
“But since Karl Rove is George Bush’s right-hand man – not to mention craftier than a snake – it is highly unlikely that he would ever go to jail, as US federal law requires, for his crime of blowing the cover of a CIA agent.”
In the meanwhile, Apple is making hay with iPod and, presumably, its new Mac mini, one of the subjects of its efforts to force online journalists to toe a line drawn by Steve & Co.
And it’s once again trying to help things along with a joint Apple-Pepsi promo.
The last one used 16 teenaged victims of the RIAA’s (Recording Industry Association of America) sue ‘em all campaign as dupes in a disgusting Super Bowl ad spot.
Something you think we should know? tips[at]p2pnet.net
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See:-
wouldn’t say – Court goes against reporters, p2pnet, February 16, 2005
Apple-Pepsi promo – New Pepsi Apple iTunes ads, p2pnet, January 19, 2005
February 17th, 2005 at 2:27 pm
I was going to buy one of those cheap Apple computers to develope software on, so that my products will be available on all platforms. This
subpoena against thes bloggers has just changed my mind. If I every develop software for Apple products, it will be malware.
February 17th, 2005 at 4:27 pm
Bring it on monkey boy.