Scottish Newspaper Jumps in with Anti-Apple Commentary

A ppleis barrage of negative commentary from the mainstream press continued Wednesday with yet another editorial criticizing Apple for its efforts to subpoena information from three Mac Web sites. Writing for Scottish newspaper the Scotsman, Stewart Kirkpatrick said Wednesday that Appleis legal efforts are "an insane piece of PR" that destroys the companyis cool factor.

At issue is Appleis lawsuit against Think Secret, and its attempts to subpoena information from AppleInsider and PowerPage. Apple recently won a ruling allowing the company to access the e-mail servers of PowerPage in its efforts to determine who leaked information to the publications, something that has traditionally been off-limits because of legal protections for journalists.

Mr. Kirkpatrick, a Mac-only computer user, criticized Apple for attempting to obfuscate the issue of whether or not online journalists are journalists. While clarifying that he doesnit care about the products Apple is wanting to keep secret, he wrote that "in a fight between journalists and ithe mani Iim damn sure I know which side Iim on."

Dipping into each of the issues involved in the court proceedings, including what makes a journalist a journalist, and a somewhat off-base attack on the amount of Mac software available, Mr. Kirkpatrickis central point was that protection of journalists is what is at stake in Appleis legal maneuvering.

In his opinion, the ruling from Judge Klein in favor of Apple "has destroyed journalism [in California, at least] by undermining the most vital tool of our trade: the ability to receive information without having to shop the person who told you."

You can find the full editorial at the Scotsman.