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EFF Joins Fight Against Apple Lawsuit
sutterpants writes "The BBC is carrying a story on the legal battle between Apple and free press advocates. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has joined in the fight to protect journalists from revealing their sources. Which carries more weight: the right of Apple to protect their trade secrets or the rights of journalists to protect their sources?"
No, but you can be sued for breaking one. It isn't as though the information being revealed showed Apple violated some law, which in spite of a NDA, authorities may want to know. If that were the case, of course the first amendment would apply.
In this case, although I'd hope that Apple would realize that they benefit from this type of interest ('reporting) in the platform, Apple is fully within thier rights. But I will say, with such rumor sites to see what's coming down the pipe, I might have left the Mac platform to the wind.
Blacker than my baby girl's stare. Black like the veil that the muslimina wear. Black like the planet that they fear...
I do not believe in petty lawsuits over cigarettes that kill or McDonald's coffee that was too hot when spilt into the lap while driving. What I do believe in is accountability for one's action and that is where the issue truly lies.
Journalists live and die by the "tips" they get.
The question is the "harm" they can cause by releasing the information.
If a journalist gets a tip that the police are looking for a suspect, releases said tip, and the suspect evades capture by getting the heads up, then the Journalist has, wittingly or not, obstructed justice.
In this instance, wittingly or not, the journalist has revealed trade secrets.
Another example? How about embedded reporters disclosing their whereabouts while in a military operation overseas (hypotethically, of course this would never happen). They endanger the lives of service men and women as well as the operation, but don't even need a source - they (or their GPS) are the source.
Being a "journalist" doesn't give one free reign to break laws.
My vote is that those who disclose confidential (NDA protected) information to a Journalist are breaking the law (civil law vs. criminal law - can be fined but not incarcerated) and the Journalist can choose to use that information if they are willing to also stand before a civil court for their actions.
If they did not know the information was priviledged, then they can just turn over the source, and have that source answer for their actions.
I only came here to do two things; kick some ass, and drink some beer...looks like we're almost out of beer.
Pajamahadeen "working" for some obscure web site?
White House plant in the Press Corps?
Unemployed Columbia J-School graduate?
MSNBC Web Jockey given too much control over content?
Me, You, here, "blogging" our opinions on an extremely popular web site?
Senile "anchor" person who looked sexy twenty years ago and hasn't written a news story in his/her life?
A perky Fox News Info-Babe?
An ex-SNL comedy writer hosting a radio show on an avowedly anti-right wing network?
The producer/writer for the ex-comedy writer's show?
Jon Stewart? Jon Stewart's producer?
Jayson Blair?
The guys who covered up for Jayson Blair?
Rush Limbaugh (currently billing himself as "America's Anchorman")?
The diligent, dutiful Editor-in-Chief of the local High School Newspaper?
Some guy from Al-Jazeera whose cousin is in Gitmo?
Armed Forces Radio?
It's 2005. "Journalism" means everything and everything. Define "journalist" for me and I'll tell ya whether his sources should be protected, laughed at, or locked up...
So do you, or do you not, fundamentally agree with the Uniform Trade Secrets Act, which "prevents third parties from exposing information knowingly obtained from sources bound by confidentiality agreements"?
Also, what constitutes a "journalist"? Anyone who has a web site? How is that defined? And yes, this is a serious question.
So this information was probably leaked in breach of an NDA... my question is to any lawyers out there, is it illegal for a newspaper (or whatever) to print information that has knowingly been obtained from someone in breach of an NDA?
How can you trust someone that works at your company that won't even keep a secret over something as trivial as a product design, to keep a bigger secret?
If you can't trust someone on the little secrets, how can you trust them on the big secrets? How do you find out who is trustworthy if you can't even find out who is breaking your trust?
Apple is going to these journalists (who are encouraging people to break the NDS) because it is about the only way to find out who is leaking the information and breaking the NDA. A private investigation won't reveal anything simply due to the number of ways people could send in the information. The only way is to get the journalists to reveal it. Although, there is getting to be a mighty thin line between what some of these journalists are doing and "industrial espionage".
Fly me to the moon Let me sing among those stars Let me see what spring is like On jupiter and mars
I'll ask again.
What constitutes a "journalist"?
Anyone who publishes information on a web site?
They're trying to paint these people as "bloggers". What constitutes a "blog"? If I post information in a journal-like style in chronological order to a web page, does that automatically make me a "journalist", and exempt me from any legal requirements pertaining to, e.g., trade secrets?
Would some kind lawyerly type please define what a "trade secret" is? To me, this seems kind of odd in that it was simply some marketing info on a new product that someone was tipped off on, not an internal process to produce something that Apple didn't want seeing the light of day.
What's the deal? I've seen "secret" photos and whatnot of covered cars on tracks before they come out.. seems that in other cases the manufacturer just keeps a tighter lid on it.
You're reading Slashdot. Of course you like Linux and pc hardware
And who or what defines what "the Press" is? Anybody who can create a website? 'Nic dePlume' is only now 19 years old; he started the site when he was 13. What exactly are his credentials? And at what point did it change from a 'rumor' site to a 'news' site?
(tig)
Ignorance and prejudice and fear
Walk hand in hand