Online Journalists Protected
Disclaimer: Online Journalists and Bloggers protections as offline reporters should be researched more to discover full impact of this appeals court ruling. Mainstream Media may cry foul because internet journalists and possibly bloggers are also covered.
In a news article filed by Associated Press (AP) at Yahoo and in a press release released by Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), Justice Conrad, California 6th District Court of Appeal put the stoppers on Apple Computer’s bid to identify sources in a court case. The AP article indicated that this 6th District Court of Appeals ruling may also extend to bloggers.
In his ruling, Justice Conrad wrote,
“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.” Source Yahoo
According to EFF, the court ruled in favor of EFF’s petition on behalf of three online journalists Friday, May 26th, 2006:
….. holding that the online journalists have the same right to protect the confidentiality of their sources as offline reporters do. “Today’s decision is a victory for the rights of journalists, whether online or offline, and for the public at large,” said EFF Staff Attorney Kurt Opsahl, who argued the case before the appeals court last month. “The court has upheld the strong protections for the free flow of information to the press, and from the press to the public.” Source: Electronic Frontier Foundation
For more information please go to the following links
Yahoo:
Apple loses court bid to identify source By MAY WONG, AP
Electronic Frontier Foundation:
EFF Stands Up for Online Journalists’ Rights in Apple v. Does
Full Decision in Apple v. Does
Frequently Asked Questions about this case
Apple v. Does
A California state appeals decision in the case [PDF]
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Posted by Stop The ACLU Special Contributor on May 27, 2006 7:32 pm
» Filed Under ACLU
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3 Responses to “Online Journalists Protected”
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Syndicate Me
Something weird is going on when the California Judiciary starts sounding sensible.
KERWIN, et. al.,
For sure, it was not the 9th Circuit court ruling.
On another note about California, Governor Schwarzenegger said that he would veto a controversial education measures related to sexual orientation, SB 1437. (SB 1437 removes sex-specific terms such as “mom” and “dad” from textbooks and requires students to learn about the contributions homosexuals have made to society.) ( http://thebosunlocker.blogspot.com/2006/05/schwarzenegger-stands-up-to.html )
So, here we have Justice Conrad and Governor Schwarzenegger using common sense on two separate, but liberal agendas. I have been worried that California had gone completely soft. Maybe there is hope for California yet.
Respectfully,
Bosun
As a Blogger recently sued for somethig he wrote I hope like heck they can determine if it does.