Apple's Settlement With Blogger Sparks Uproar

Posted by Eriq Gardner

Apple has settled a lawsuit it filed in 2005 against rumor-mongering website Think Secret for publishing trade secrets. As part of the settlement, Think Secret founder Nicholas Ciarelli announced on the site that "Think Secret will no longer be published."

The undisclosed settlement has sparked an uproar in the Internet community. "It sets a horrible precedent for plenty of sites, and may create quite the chilling effect on reporters and bloggers alike," said Techdirt.

Think Secret was started by a 13-year-old middle-schooler in New Woodstock, N.Y. It quickly rose to prominence after publishing well-sourced leaks about upcoming Apple products. In 2005, the company sued Think Secret and won court permission to issue subpoenas to try to identify the leaks. The case became a cause célèbre in the blogosphere about whether blogs should be treated as legitimate news organizations and granted protection by the First Amendment and California's journalist shield law.

In response to the suit, the website hired a prominent lawyer and filed a Anti-SLAPP countersuit. In 2006, a California Appeals Court overturned the original judge's subpoena.

Many lawyers who follow the case believed that Ciarelli would emerge victorious and win a substantial award. Thus, many are raising their eyebrows at yesterday's settlement, wondering how much cash Apple forked over to not only settle the suit, but to put Think Secret to bed for good.