Apple wins first round in suit over secrets

2005-03-05 21:56:26
Apple just drew first blood in their efforts to force Think Secret, PowerPage, and Apple Insider to divulge their sources, with Judge James Kleinberg tentatively ruling that First Amendement protections for journalists do not extend to these sites (Apple is pissed that somehow the dirt got out about a new FireWire audio interface box for GarageBand codenamed Asteroid or Q97). Ok, we’re admittedly a little biased about whether or not blogging should be considered journalism, but whether it is or not, filing subpoenas against websites because your own people can’t keep a secret isn’t a good way to endear yourself to the public. As Dan Gillmor said, Apple wouldn’t be suing the New York Times if they’d published this same information. Ultimately Apple needs to realize that they can’t have it both ways—you can’t have enthusiast sites giving you tons of publicity and building buzz for your products and then be upset when they do their best to dig up info about unreleased products. Besides, most companies would be thrilled to have an army of bloggers trying to divine their next move. It’s time to withdraw the suit, ok? We promise to still love you.