Score another one for the home team. Especially for those of us who call California home.
SAN JOSE, Calif. – 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.
This is all rather important to us, as you may have guessed, at The BRAD BLOG, considering the kind of work we do here.
In fact, we were quoted by the NY Times last March concerning this very case and appeared on ABC News to discuss it as well that day.
Thanks, and a big congrats, go to the EFF for standing up for us on this one!
“Today’s decision is a victory for the rights of journalists, whether online or offline, and for the public at large,” said the group’s staff attorney Kurt Opsahl, who argued the case before the appeals court last month.
Right on.
Alright!
Strike another blow for freedom!
Whoopee #1 for the blogosphere,..
source confidentiality.
Whoopee #2 for the blogosphere,..
Net Neutrality passes Congressional Committee.
Whoopee #3 for the blogosphere,..
Net Neutrality passes the full House,..
vote after Memorial Day,.. stay tuned.
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Net Neutrality Bill, Backed By House Judiciary Committee
Internet-based companies were sure pleased to know that the US government House Judiciary Committee decided that the Internet would not be split into “the fast lane” and “the slow lane”
The so-called “Net Neutrality bill” passed following a 20-13 vote. The bill ensures that telecom giants such as At&T or ComCast won’t be able to control online content based on the dominance over the broadband market they tried (in vain, at least for now) to obtain.
F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-Wis.), the bill’s chief sponsor, stated that:
"When this market power is utilized to violate the nondiscriminatory features that drive Internet innovation and consumer choice, an antitrust remedy is clearly needed."
The recently-passed bill contradicts the Communications Opportunity, Promotion and Enhancement Act. The latter aims to give the FCC the power to decide if telecom companies can violate Net neutrality principles or not. Could you guess its main supporters?
(Telecoms and Cable Industry)
After Memorial Day vote goes to full House,..
Full House Vote : Link
House Bill – H.R. 5417 – Net Neutrality,.. Link to Bill
HR 5417,.. Committee vote,.. Yea/Nay,.. Link
There is a competing bill on Net Neutrality that is not too consumer friendly,.. H.R. 5252,.. Link
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Senate Bill – Net neutrality,..
TELECOM REFORM: NET NEUTRALITY AND INTERCONNECTION
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Committee resumed hearings to examine S. 2686, to amend the Communications Act of 1934 and for other purposes, focusing on policies that will increase investment in network technologies to promote facilities-based competition, receiving testimony from Paul Misener, Amazon.com, Tom Tauke, Verizon, Timothy J. Regan, Corning Incorporated, Ben Scott, Free Press, on behalf of Consumers Union and Consumer Federation of America, and Earl W. Comstock, COMPTEL, all of Washington, D.C.; and Roger J. Cochetti, Computing Technology Industry Association, Arlington, Virginia.
Hearings continue on Tuesday, June 13.
Bad Link Above,….
US House,.. Net Neutrality competing bill
HR 5252,… not as consumer friendly,..
(may be combined with HR 5417)
Link : HR 5252
Oh ya WHOOPEE,.. Whoopee Link
A sad, sad day for the MSM.
Yahoooooooooo!!!!
Hold on just a second,..
the NYT thread,..
"the devastatingly handsome Mr. Friedman…."
(as stated by Mr. Friedman,..)
now it would be proper to denote that as biased reporting,.. would it not MR. FRIEDMAN ?
Gee-whiz,.. a Hollywood type,.. I quess.
These days… that gives you the right to be spied on and have your sources tracked through NSA spying operations.
But you’re still allowed to not talk about them.
Thank god for Brad! Here is an individual who can stand tall and proud for believing in his own interpretation! And it is not very hard to see the government of the USA is/ and has been misleading the very people that they have promised and vowed to protect! I have listened to many an argument or debate..what ever terminology you have requested….and then I get to see the worst of mankind! What I have seen is hardly a competent organisism that could compete with our senses. Go on…for your need
I guess our friend Feeney didn’t think this was a bill he could, in all good conscience, support.
The ruling comes down on the side of traditional american values.
When the court said "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."
Well said. The courts are correct to never embroil themselves in deciding what is legitimate religion, journalism, and politics.
Good job 6th Circuit … lets hope it catches on.
LET THE LEAKS BEGIN
We bloggers called on patriots working in the government to leak info so we can inform the public about what the republican dictatorship is plotting against us.
We don’t want illegal leaks like Cheney, Rove, and Libby leak. That is anti-american. We want leaks that uncover the lies and crimes of the republican dictatorship.
Leaks to help us overthrow the republican dictatorship via the November election.
A river of leaks can now be made in the 6th judicial district of California, because the California shield law protects those who leak to blogs too (Court Case Link). The lower court had ruled the wrong way and had ordered the blog to give it up. The appellate court knew that was not at all the proper course to take.
So leak in that district (6th Judicial District) which spans the counties of Santa Clara, San Benito, Santa Cruz, and Monterey (about 6th District), and the blog journalists, like Brad, will protect you legally.
Whistleblowers are some of the top patriots in the land, and I notice that bloggers fully appreciate their work. The MSM, on the other hand, are ho-hum on major news stories. Now we can show the american public what the MSM is really like.
We can show that they are in bed with (embedded) the republican dictatorship and are bent on treating the american public like step children, like a problem, and like a nuisance. The blogs are ready to step up to the plate and set the record straight.
LET THE LEGAL LEAKS BEGIN !!!!
#9 Jaded,
Um…….what?? Your first sentence is right on the money…but the rest of your comment just takes a walk into crazytown.
Wow Brad, this is way cool! Now I can tell you all the super duper secret stuff without fear! And Joan, I agree that that’s a neighborhood to avoid…
This is great to see indeed. Now, let’s hope that more bloggers follow the lead of you, Marshall and others and begin to use their platforms for real journalism, interviews, and investigation rather than strict commentary on other site’s stories.
Brad is big time, I tellz ya…BIG BIG BIG!!!