iPhone Prototype: Web Reacts to Raid on Editor's House

Police raided Gizmodo editor Jason Chen's house Friday night--has Apple gone too far?

So, it turns out that Apple isn't thrilled about media companies dropping big bucks for its secret prototypes--on Friday night, California's Rapid Enforcement Allied Computer Team reportedly entered Gizmodo senior editor Jason Chen's residence with a warrant, seizing four computers, two servers, and a number of other incidentals (including flash drives, cameras, and cell phones).

Other top-secret Apple projects found at a bar

Gizmodo went ahead and posted everything--including a copy of the warrant, an inventory of the seized items, Gizmodo's legal response to the police, and Chen's account of the events--to its website on Monday, presumably to bring the Internet over to its side (after all, the Web hates law enforcement).

To continue reading, register here and become an Insider. You'll get free access to premium content from CIO, Computerworld, CSO, InfoWorld, and Network World. See more Insider content or sign in.

So, it turns out that Apple isn't thrilled about media companies dropping big bucks for its secret prototypes--on Friday night, California's Rapid Enforcement Allied Computer Team reportedly entered Gizmodo senior editor Jason Chen's residence with a warrant, seizing four computers, two servers, and a number of other incidentals (including flash drives, cameras, and cell phones).

Other top-secret Apple projects found at a bar

Gizmodo went ahead and posted everything--including a copy of the warrant, an inventory of the seized items, Gizmodo's legal response to the police, and Chen's account of the events--to its website on Monday, presumably to bring the Internet over to its side (after all, the Web hates law enforcement).

Part of Gizmodo's legal response to the police quotes section 1524 (g) of the California Penal Code, which states, "no warrant shall issue for any item or items described Section 1070 of the Evidence code."

Section 1070 of the Evidence code states:

"(a) A publisher, editor, reporter, or other person connected with or employed upon a newspaper, magazine, or other periodical publication, or by a press association or wire service, or any person who has been so connected or employed, cannot be adjudged in contempt by a judicial, legislative, administrative body, or any other body having the power to issue subpoenas, for refusing to disclose, in any proceeding as defined in Section 901, the source of any information procured while so connected or employed for publication in a newspaper, magazine or other periodical publication, or for refusing to disclose any unpublished information obtained or prepared in gathering, receiving or processing of information for communication to the public.

(b) Nor can a radio or television news reporter or other person connected with or employed by a radio or television station, or any person who has been so connected or employed, be so adjudged in contempt for refusing to disclose the source of any information procured while so connected or employed for news or news commentary purposes on radio or television, or for refusing to disclose any unpublished information obtained or prepared in gathering, receiving or processing of information for communication to the public.

(c) As used in this section, "unpublished information" includes information not disseminated to the public by the person from whom disclosure is sought, whether or not related information has been disseminated and includes, but is not limited to, all notes, outtakes, photographs, tapes or other data of whatever sort not itself disseminated to the public through a medium of communication, whether or not published information based upon or related to such material has been disseminated."

Citizen Media Law Project comments on the legal side of things (with notes about what constitutes stolen property, whether it is a crime to receive said property, and whether or not bloggers are protected under journalism shield laws).

But if Gizmodo is looking to play the "integrity" card (complete with arguments that "it's the public's right to know" and "the press is the watchdog of big corporations such as Apple"), they may have screwed themselves over with their actions.