Mac news sites reject Apple's legal demand for disclosure

Posted on 15 Feb 2005 at 08:56

Two of the Mac news websites facing legal action from Apple have asked a California court to reject subpoenas that demand the sites' editors disclose their sources of leaked information about forthcoming Apple products.

Lawyers for PowerPage and Apple Insider argued on Monday that Internet journalists are entitled to the same protection under the First Amendment as their paper- and TV-based colleagues. The First Amendment to the US Constitution states that, 'Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press....'

The websites are being backed by digital rights campaigners the Electronic Frontier Foundation, whose filing to the court said that PowerPage's Jason O'Grady and Apple Insider's Kasper Jade 'cannot be compelled to disclose the source of any information procured in connection with their journalistic endeavors, nor any unpublished information obtained'.

The two sites were subpoenaed in December 2004 along with two others, Think Secret and MacNN, which hosts Apple Insider, after revealing details of an Apple product codenamed Asteroid Q97, believed to be a FireWire audio interface for Apple's GarageBand music software. The product has yet to see the light of day, although an enhanced version of GarageBand was released last month.

Think Secret is also facing further legal action by Apple over an unrelated leak of information.

Author: Simon Aughton

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