[And of course thanks to Apple's announcements on Tuesday, we know that
many of the bloggers were right... --Declan]
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: EFF: Apple Can't Strongarm Bloggers
Date: Mon, 10 Jan 2005 10:27:01 -0800
From: EFF Press <press@private>
Organization: Electronic Frontier Foundation
Electronic Frontier Foundation Media Release
For Immediate Release: Monday, January 10, 2005
Contact:
Kurt Opsahl
Staff Attorney
Electronic Frontier Foundation
kurt@private
+1 415 436 9333 x106
Apple Can't Strongarm Bloggers
EFF Defends Rights of Reporters Who Published "Asteroid"
News Stories on Blogs
Santa Clara, CA - Only weeks before Macworld, the nation's
biggest annual trade show devoted to Apple products, Apple
sent legal threats to the publishers of the Mac-centric
weblogs AppleInsider and PowerPage for posting information
about a product code-named "Asteroid." Apple-watchers
believe this product will be announced at Macworld this week.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is representing the
publishers to protect their right to keep confidential the
identities of the people who supplied them with the
information.
On December 13, Apple filed suit against "Does 1-20" in a
Santa Clara court. The company obtained a court order that
allows it to issue subpoenas to AppleInsider and PowerPage
for the names of the "Does" who allegedly leaked the
information in question. EFF is defending the publishers
against these subpoenas, arguing that the anonymity of
bloggers' sources is protected by the same laws that
protect sources providing information to journalists.
"Bloggers break the news, just like journalists do. They
must be able to promise confidentiality in order to
maintain the free flow of information," said EFF Staff
Attorney Kurt Opsahl. "Without legal protection, informants
will refuse to talk to reporters, diminishing the power of
the open press that is the cornerstone of a free society."
"I am very disappointed by Apple's behavior and its new
policy of issuing legal threats to its best customers,"
added Jason O'Grady, publisher of PowerPage. "Is corporate
paranoia really more important than the First Amendment?"
Article about "Asteroid":
http://news.com.com/2061-1040_3-5465155.html?tag=nl
About PowerPage:
http://www.powerpage.org/cgi-bin/WebObjects/powerpage.woa/wa/about
About AppleInsider:
http://www.appleinsider.com
For this release:
http://www.eff.org/news/archives/2005_01.php#002190
About EFF
The Electronic Frontier Foundation is the leading civil
liberties organization working to protect rights in the
digital world. Founded in 1990, EFF actively encourages and
challenges industry and government to support free
expression and privacy online. EFF is a member-supported
organization and maintains one of the most linked-to
websites in the world at http://www.eff.org/
-end-
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