CA Court Says Bloggers Do Not Have Same Protections as Journalists

JURIST – Paper Chase: California judge says journalist shield laws don’t apply to bloggers
Judge James Kleinberg of the Superior Court of California, Santa Clara County [official website] issued a preliminary ruling Thursday holding that three computer industry blogs – PowerPage, Apple Insider, and Think Secret – could not claim the same First Amendment {Cornell LII backgrounder] and California Shield Law [First Amendment Project overview] protections that allow journalists to refuse to reveal their sources. The weblogs had published alleged trade secrets about upcoming product releases from Apple Computer [corporate website].

Well, this oughta get ’em riled up…