News Organizations call for freedom for Press in Apple Case

News Organizations call for freedom for Press in Apple Case

Apple recently won a case against three online news journals, which leaked information about upcoming products from their stables. This verdict enabled Apple to force these news sites to reveal their sources. Apple had initially claimed that leakage of this private company information was against the trade secret laws. Now, more than half a dozen online news organizations have come out in support for these three journalists.

The computer maker had also initially sued 25 of their employees, who they suspected leaked the company’s private information. This was in addition to the demand made to the three sites to reveal their sources for the leaked information. Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge James Kleinberg had taken the side of the Macintosh maker saying that reporters who publish “stolen property” are not entitled to protections given to traditional news media.

They now have the support of eight of California’s largest newspapers and The Associated Press who have asked the courts that the online news journalists should have the right to keep their sources of information private. Their claim is that the result of Apple’s case would result in limiting the powers of the journalists to report information in press. This would include cases related to corruption and fraud where this result can be recalled to benefit the culprit.

The news organizations raising the point in support for the freedom of press are: Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, San Jose Mercury News, San Diego Union-Tribune, Orange County Register, Bee newspapers in Sacramento, Fresno and Modesto, California Newspaper Publishers Association and the nonprofit free speech organization California First Amendment Coalition.

They have also said that Apple should first find out internally the source of the leak rather than blaming the news sources for the released information. Their 38 pages long brief to the courts stated: “Recent corporate scandals involving Worldcom, Enron and the tobacco industry all undoubtedly involved the reporting of information that the companies involved would have preferred to remain unknown to the public. Just because a statute seeks to protect secrecy of such information does not mean that the First Amendment protections provided to the news media to inform the public are wiped away.”

A very valid point indeed.