iPhone 4G ‘Exclusive’ leaves Blogger in Felony Soup
4/28/2010 03:02:00 PM - 0 comments
The tale of the ‘exclusive’ iPhone 4G coverage from Gawker Media's Gizmodo.com proved to be costly for Gizmodo blogger and editor Jason Chen, whose Fremont, California home was raided on Friday.Police are said to have seized four computers and two servers, an iPad, and other devices. The search warrant had indicated that Jason’s computers may contain photographs of Apple's "prototype 4G iPhone," as well as email pertaining to its purchase, call records, etc.
Gizmodo had a spectacular time the last week as it got millions of unique visitors thronging to get a scoop of one of biggest Apple secrets - the forthcoming iPhone 4G. However, the hype was short-lived as Apple known to fiercely guard its product secrecy issued a notice through its lawyers to Gawker Media to return the ‘stolen’ 4G iPhone.
Sources reveal that the California, San Mateo County's investigation and criminal probe into Apple's errant iPhone prototype is expected to broaden beyond Gawker Media's Gizmodo.com and charges of felony may be enforced.
Flashback: The ‘exclusive’ iPhone 4G – How it reached Gizmodo
Although the curtain for the ‘exclusive’ iPhone 4G story fell on Friday night with the policing raiding Gizmodo employee and editor Jason Chen’s home, the story takes root long back last month when an Apple software engineer Gray Powell, purportedly misplaced the yet to be released iPhone 4G device in a Redwood City, California bar; to be lifted by an unidentified person.
Reports indicate that the stranger who picked up the left behind iPhone must be pretty iPhone savvy, who swiftly contacted Gawker Media's Gizmodo.com to strike a deal for the ‘most anticipated’ device of the year. It is believed that the person who lifted the iPhone 4G from the bar was well informed that ‘Gizmodo had previously indicated its willingness to pay significant sums for unreleased Apple products’.
Will there be felony investigation against Gizmodo and others?
Experts in California law are hinting at a possible launch of a felony investigation which will also take into account Gawker Media's Gizmodo.com, which acknowledged buying the prototype for $5,000 from an unknown person. One of the prime reason for an extended investigation is to identify the person who found the so-called 4G prototype and offered it for sale to the gadget blog.
Although it is not very clear of the law enforcement official’s course of investigations, there are reports that charges could be filed against the buyer of the phone – i.e. the Gizmodo employees. There is also a debate on why Gizmodo is protecting the person’s identity from whom they have bought the stolen iPhone. After all, it is a stolen good and abiding by laws you are bound to help investigation involving theft.
What does California law say….
It is evident that California law makes it a crime for someone to find lost property but not return it. However, there is also an ongoing debate as to whether bloggers qualify as journalists and should benefit from federal and state laws limiting newsroom searches. Here are a few things you need to understand before you too join this debate.
- Under a 1872 California law, any person who finds lost property and knows who the owner is likely to be--but "appropriates such property to his own use"--is guilty of theft. There are no exceptions for journalists. In addition, a second state law says that any person who knowingly receives property that has been obtained illegally can be imprisoned for up to one year.
- A federal Privacy Protection Act broadly immunizes news organizations from searches, effectively requiring police to use subpoenas in most cases instead. It applies not just to traditional media but anyone "reasonably believed to have a purpose to disseminate to the public a newspaper, book, broadcast, or other similar form of public communication."
- Again a similar California law prevents judges from signing warrants that target writers for newspapers, magazines, or "other periodical publications," a definition that a state appeals court explicitly extended (PDF) to shield Apple rumor sites.
Earlier, Apple acknowledged that the device belonged to the company and its lawyers have asked Gizmodo for it to be returned (to which Gizmodo complied). It is well known that Apple goes to extraordinary lengths to protect the secrecy of its products, and is known to have taken aggressive legal action in the past. However the company has declined to comment on the police raid.
Watch this space for more updates as the case unfolds!
Posted: Seuli.B
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