[DMCA-Activists] EFF: EFF Appeals Ruling in Apple Case

[Seth Johnson]

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: EFF: EFF Appeals Ruling in Apple Case
Date: Tue, 22 Mar 2005 15:46:21 -0800
From: EFF Press <address@hidden>
Organization: Electronic Frontier Foundation
To: address@hidden

Electronic Frontier Foundation Media Release

For Immediate Release: Tuesday, March 22, 2005

Contact:

Kevin Bankston
   Attorney, Equal Justice Works / Bruce J. Ennis Fellow
   Electronic Frontier Foundation
   address@hidden
   +1 415 436-9333 x126

Kurt Opsahl
   Staff Attorney
   Electronic Frontier Foundation
   address@hidden
   +1 415 436 9333 x106

EFF Appeals Ruling in Apple Case

Asks Court to Reaffirm Freedom of the Press

San Jose, CA - Today the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)
filed an appeal in a case that has broad implications for the
rights of reporters to protect the confidentiality of their
sources.

Last week, a California Superior Court judge ruled that an online
journalist's Internet service provider (ISP) can be required to
reveal the identities of the reporter's confidential sources to
Apple Computer, Inc. The court rejected EFF's request for an
order to protect the identities of sources for the online news
sites AppleInsider and PowerPage.

This landmark case was the first in which a court heard arguments
that online reporters' confidential sources and unpublished
materials are protected by both the reporter's shield in the
California constitution and the reporter's privilege under the
federal First Amendment. But the court did not restrict its
ruling to online journalists, instead holding that all
journalists could be required to reveal confidential sources when
a claim of trade secret is raised.

In its request for an appeal, EFF argues that the First Amendment
cannot be so easily waived. Many important news leaks, such as
those revealing the dangers of cigarette smoking, can be claimed
to be trade secrets by the companies seeking to stop them. Apple
must also demonstrate that it has done an exhaustive search
elsewhere for the information it seeks before targeting
journalists with court orders. There is no evidence that Apple
has done such an exhaustive search.

"The California courts have a long history of supporting and
protecting the freedom of the press," said EFF Staff Attorney
Kurt Opsahl. "The Court of Appeal will now get the opportunity to
correct a ruling that endangers all journalists."

"The Superior Court's ruling exalted statutory trade secret
protection over constitutional rights, misapplied the test for
when the constitutional reporter's privilege may be overcome, and
ignored the Stored Communications Act altogether," said EFF staff
attorney and Bruce J. Ennis Fellow Kevin Bankston. "There are
strong protections for email privacy under federal law,
especially when that mail is held by an ISP. Every email service
provider should be concerned about correcting this dangerous
precedent."

The case is the result of Apple suing several unnamed
individuals, called "Does," who allegedly leaked information
about an upcoming product code-named "Asteroid." Apple 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."

Request for Appeal:
http://www.eff.org/Censorship/Apple_v_Does/20050322_writ_petition.pdf

Apple v. Does:
http://www.eff.org/Censorship/Apple_v_Does/

For this release:
http://www.eff.org/news/archives/2005_03.php#003449

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/


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