Judge rules for Apple in ID case
p2pnet.net News :- A California judge has effectively destroyed one of the most valuable tools in free online journalism – investigative reporting.
ISP Nfox can be forced to name PowerPage and AppleInsider confidential sources to Apple, Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge James Kleinberg has ruled.
“The court rejected a request for an order to protect the confidentiality of these sources and other unpublished materials,” says the EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) which, with Thomas Moore III and Richard Wiebe, was acting for both sites.
Defendants’ counsel say they plan to ask the California Appellate Court to intervene.
This was the landmark case in which a court was asked to decide whether or not online reporters’ confidential sources and unpublished materials are protected by the reporters’ shield in the California constitution, and reporters’ privilege under the First Amendment.
“But the court did not restrict its ruling to online journalists, instead deciding that all journalists could be required to reveal confidential sources when a claim of trade secret is raised,” says the EFF, going on:
“Apple is suing several unnamed individuals, called ‘Does,’ who allegedly leaked information about an upcoming product code-named ‘Asteroid.’ Apple has subpoenaed Nfox, the ISP for PowerPage.com publisher Jason O’Grady, demanding that the ISP turn over the communications and unpublished materials O’Grady obtained while he was gathering information for his articles about ‘Asteroid’.”
Apple has also been granted permission to issue subpoenas directly to EFF clients PowerPage and AppleInsider for similar information, but these haven’t yet been issued and weren’t ruled on today.
“Apple Computer’s disgusting attack on three online journalism sites, in a witch hunt to find out who (if anyone) inside the company leaked information about allegedly upcoming products, has taken a nasty turn,” wrote Dan Gillmor recently.
“Too bad it’s not surprising – and journalists of all kinds should be paying attention. A judge in California has decided that the sites don’t qualify as ‘journalism’ (AP) under state law and/or the First Amendment.
“By his bizarre and dangerous standard, I apparently stopped being a journalist the day I left my newspaper job after a quarter-century of writing for newspapers.”
Apple is also trying to sue Think Secret publisher Nick Ciarelli for revealing details of the Mac mini before Steve & Co were ready.
Think Secret, PowerPage and AppleInsider have given much free (but nonetheless priceless) PR to Apple.
Gizmodo put it in a nut-shell when news of the suit broke, writing:
“Our take is pretty simple: fuck ‘em all – every last company.
“There’s absolutely no reason for a website to pull product leaks just because a company threatens them – in fact, that means you’re probably sitting on a good story. I’ve done it a total of one time, for Creative, and got so burned I learned my lesson.”
Apple may think it’s won, but its victory is likely to be hollow.
The ruling applies only to American reporters.
Something you think we should know? tips[at]p2pnet.net
============
See:-
EFF – Court Crushes Online Journalists’ Rights, March 11, 22005
Asteroid – Apple holds off in Asteroid case, p2pnet, February 18, 2005
trying to sue – Think Secret SLAPPs Apple, March 8, 2005
Gizmodo – More on Apple vs. Think Secret, January 10, 2005
March 12th, 2005 at 12:53 am
“The ruling applies only to American reporters.”
you’re getting the screw from your own legal system and governement now…
TT
March 12th, 2005 at 9:15 am
Oh we’ve been getting screwed from our Gov’t since the minute the DMCA/US Patriot Act were approved…… This is just another mistake to add to the list of dumb directions our legal system has allowed.
That said, I really suspect this will be over turned by a higher court – I can’t see them allowing this for long…… I really hope they wont allow it anyway.
_-Jile-_
March 12th, 2005 at 11:29 am
This was not the case earlier in our history.. I believe it was the cherokee indians which won a supreme court case against the US govt when they tried to move them off their land.. The presidency uconstitutionally ignored the ruling..
Now however it’s a different story.
1- The courts have routinely upheld the rights of numerous governmental bodies to limit people’s right to peacibly assemble through laws establishing very small and very remote “free speech zones”. [LESSON: The constitution does not apparently protect dissenters.]
2 – In their ruling on eldredge v ashcroft the supreme court said they refused to uphold the constitutional mandate that copyright have a limited term. They said congress was RIGHT in perpetually extending copyright in both scope and breadth in direct opposition with the constitution(when combined with a later ruling).[LESSON: The constitution does not apply if it limits the power of large multinational copyright conglomerates]
3 –
A.The cartels are continuing to gain court subpoenas for their filesharing “does” in 500 person lots when the due process clause unequivocally requires that each individual be treated as a separate offender unless clear evidence is presented that they are in collusion (e.g. their cases must be related, or theyre tried separately). I’d love to see them try this with any other crime.. let’s subpoena and try all serial killer suspects as a lot in a single trial.
B. A high court dismissed a very valid class action suit in which mounds of evidence pointed to the fact that wal-mart was committing wage fraud by multiple means.
[LESSON: The constitution does not apply to those who seek fair treatment from multibillion dollar corporations]
4- This recent apple case gives credit and precedent to two dangerous ideas.
A. Only multimillion dollar “traditional” print, radio, and tv media are allowed protection under the first amendment.
B. Press should not be allowed to engage in investigative reporting if multinational corporations don’t agree with what is being said.
[LESSON: The constitution does not apply if corporate america says "speak no evil: or else." especially on the internet.]
All you need is a few million or a copyright and you suddenly are no longer “created equal”..
“We hold these truths to be self evident that <s>all men are created equal</s>.”
“We hold these truths to be self evident that men who hold wealth or copyrights are created with distinct superiority to their underlings.”
Let’s face it.. when you punch through all the mythology we rebelled from britain in the first place because we were too greedy to pay a tax, and the odd thing is we’d have gotten more representation for our taxes if we had not rebelled.
We americans have been living in a neofascist regime for at least 10 years (if not 150 years starting with the first segregation and anti-strike laws) which has centered around greed (and a much lesser degree christianity) rather than a specific racial or national purity.
I’m not saying there is some secretive cabal or shadow government. One is not necessary for such a political system to inadvertantly arise from the separate actions taken by the wealthy to protect/advance their own personal agendas.
Our society has become set up to marginalize, ostracize, (or in extreme cases persecute), intellectuals and visionaries who see a better way to do things and vocalize it, and our school system is set up to systematically stifle creativity and fresh perspective because those are a threat to this old, inadvertantly created, but solid front of corruption.
March 12th, 2005 at 11:38 am
http://p2pnet.net/story/4149
If my guess is correct and youre canadian.. this story says your ministers in parliament are selling you guys down the river next.. and it looks just as bad or even worse than it’s american counterpart.
If youre british or european i’m afraid it’s even worse..
March 12th, 2005 at 6:03 pm
yah I know I’ve been trying to get people to contat their MPs before its too late, infortunately Canada is a nation of apathy, no one will care until it’s too late
TT