Bloggers won a huge battle in court when a state appeals court ruled on Friday to reject Apple Computer's Inc. bid to force bloggers to reveal their sources. The state appeals court basically backed the argument that bloggers are entitled to the same protections as traditional journalists.
Good, score one for the blogging community as a whole and another huge victory for "freedom of the press".
SAN JOSE, Calif. May 26, 2006 (AP) -- A state appeals court on Friday rejected Apple Computer Inc.'s bid to identify the sources of leaked product information that appeared on Web sites, ruling that online reporters and bloggers are entitled to the same protections as traditional journalists.
"In no relevant respect do they appear to differ from a reporter or editor for a traditional business-oriented periodical who solicits or otherwise comes into possession of confidential internal information about a company," Justice Conrad Rushing of the 6th District Court of Appeal wrote in a unanimous 69-page ruling.
"We decline the implicit invitation to embroil ourselves in questions of what constitutes 'legitimate journalism," he wrote. "The shield law is intended to protect the gathering and dissemination of news, and that is what petitioners did here."
The online journalists are thus entitled to the protections provided under California's shield law as well as the privacy protections for e-mails allowed under federal law, the court ruled.
By Electronic Frontier Foundation's lawyers winning this much anticipated appeal, the spread of news and information in the blogoshpere can continue to move forward without the constant fear that "big brother" corporations will come along to try to shut you down as the Apple Company tried to do to AppleInsider.com, PowerPage.org, and MacNN.com.
Savor this, bloggers, because it's not every day the little guys get a huge win against the big corporate giants. Freedom of press lives to see another day, and I'm truly grateful for it.
Tags: [Apple Loses Court Bid To Identify Sources], [a state appeals court ruled on Friday to reject Apple Computer's Inc. bid to force bloggers to reveal their sources], [online reporters and bloggers are entitled to the same protections as traditional journalists], [Justice Conrad Rushing], [6th District Court of Appeal], [Electronic Frontier Foundation]
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