
As we say in Dutch, de kogel is door de kerk: Think Secret will
cease all activities after reaching a settlement with Apple in a lawsuit Apple had filed against the website. In exchange for closing down Think Secret, Nick DePlume, its owner, will not have to reveal its sources to Apple. The
press release on the Think Secret website reads:
"Apple and Think Secret have settled their lawsuit, reaching an agreement that results in a positive solution for both sides. As part of the confidential settlement, no sources were revealed and Think Secret will no longer be published." My take: I have respect for the way DePlume protected his sources; very commendable. I have, however, little respect for Apple in this case (I have written,
rather controversially, about it before), and it just scares the living daylights out of me that a company can exert this much power over independent websites.
Member since:
2005-07-06
Oh, come on, no need to hyperbole.
There is a world of difference between exposing high level corruption and publishing leaked information.
This information is private to Apple - and lets remember this has been off the back of a long history of reporting and using private information in a public forum.
Worse, I find it funny when people try to legitimise leaking of private corporate information then run in of the back of some sort of modern day robin hood - there is a world of difference between reporting on the latest widget and real issues - if for example a company is dumping toxic chemicals.
No one is trying silence bloggers, its about bloggers respecting their privacy.
Oh, and in regards to third parties; that doesn't legitimise it. Its up to you to confirm whether it is ok to print. Imagine if I started printing private information about you which I found through a third party - what your reaction be?