Judge Delays Decision on Mac Rumor Sites
On Friday, Judge James Kleinberg delayed a final ruling on whether three Web sites can be classified as legitimate journalistic outlets and can claim protection under reporter shield laws, thereby avoiding subpoenas from Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple Computer Inc. The company recently filed a complaint against the sites—PowerPage.org, AppleInsider and Think Secret—in the Superior Court of Santa Clara County, California.
The complaint claimed that the sites published trade secrets about upcoming Apple products, and requested subpoenas to help uncover the identity of anonymous sources that allegedly fed the information to the Web sites. This follows Thursday's tentative ruling by Judge Kleinberg against the sites, stating that they were not entitled to protection under First Amendment Reporter's Privilege or the California Constitution Reporter's Shield.
The delay was sparked, according to a representative for the EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation), which is representing PowerPage.org and AppleInsider, by the judge's decision to take under consideration the EFF's motion for a protective order.
