EFF Sues Apple Over BluWiki Legal Threats

Hugh Pickens writes "The Electronic Frontier Foundation has filed suit against Apple to defend the First Amendment rights of BluWiki, a noncommercial, public Internet 'wiki' site operated by OdioWorks. Last year, BluWiki users began a discussion about making some Apple iPods and iPhones interoperate with software other than Apple's iTunes. Apple lawyers demanded removal of the content (pdf) sending a letter to OdioWorks, alleging that the discussions constituted copyright infringement and a violation of the DMCA's prohibition on circumventing copy protection measures. Fearing legal action by Apple, OdioWorks took down the discussions from the BluWiki site but has now filed a lawsuit to vindicate its right to restore those discussions (pdf) and seeking a declaratory judgment that the discussions do not violate any of the DMCA's anti-circumvention provisions, and do not infringe any copyrights owned by Apple. 'I take the free speech rights of BluWiki users seriously,' said Sam Odio, owner of OdioWorks. 'Companies like Apple should not be able to censor online discussions by making baseless legal threats against services like BluWiki that host the discussions.'" Random BedHead Ed adds ZDNet quotes EFF's Fred von Lohmann, who says that this is an issue of censorship. 'Wikis and other community sites are home to many vibrant discussions among hobbyists and tinkerers. It's legal to engage in reverse engineering in order to create a competing product, it's legal to talk about reverse engineering, and it's legal for a public wiki to host those discussions.'"

Comments

Chicken

[Publikwerks]

"I take the free speech rights of BluWiki users seriously," said Sam Odio, owner of OdioWorks. "Companies like Apple should not be able to censor online discussions by making baseless legal threats against services like BluWiki that host the discussions." Yet, they did Sam, because you were too chickenshit to stand up to them. Now you want to stand behind a court decision before you muster up the "courage" to re-post the posts. If you are really concerned, re-post then go to court. Defend your users.

Re:w00t for the EFF

[Nerdfest]

If you've used iTunes, you should be thanking them.

Re:What's the Story

[TheVelvetFlamebait]

The crazy guy with the gun down the street, who thinks that everyone is a robotic clone made by a secret group formed by the government and big corporations is also looking out for your freedom, and is also anti-evil. Yet, at the same time, he manages to screw over everyone he comes in contact with by acting on his poorly-based information.

The politician who orders the forceful annexing of all non-democratic countries is looking out for other people's freedoms, and is anti-evil. Yet, he is himself a type of evil.

The EFF is a fringe group with an agenda, with a total inability to see the big picture (like all fringe groups) and should be treated as such. I trust them to know what's best for me about as much as I trust the RIAA to do the same thing.