Big Bad Apple: How They Treat Tech Bloggers

It seems that the wild tale of the lost fourth generation iPhone is not over. For those who have not heard of the whole fiasco, the iPhone 4G got lost in a bar on Redwood City. The mobile phone looks like an Apple 3GS but with a front facing camera as well as other beefed up hardware inside. The tech blog Gizmodo got hold of the device, paying a little under 3,300 GBP for it from the person who picked it up. Find the latest mobile phone deals at Moby1.

Apple politely asked for the device to be brought back to HQ, verifying the authenticity of the prototype and Gizmodo was more than happy to arrange a return of the iPhone 4G, saying that they could contact Jason Chen. The blog writer says this in response to Apple’s request:

“Now that we definitely know it’s not some knockoff, and it really is Apple’s, I’m happy to see it returned to its rightful owner.” You can compare iPhone 4 deals online at Moby1.

After the events, Jason Chen’s home was apparently searched and raided by the police one evening. The police are under the REACT computer crime division of California. They guys in uniforms had a search warrant signed by the San Mateo County Judge. The blogger’s computers and servers were taken by the police despite protests bringing up the Section 1524(g) of the California Penal Code.

The section states that unpublished information in the form of notes, tapes and the like (in this case, soft copies in the computers) cannot be seized by the authorities. Despite that, the police did not halt their operation. They were not even supposed to have started it in the first place due to the lack of “Night Search Approved” authorization. When comparing online you can often find mobile phones with free gifts.

Since Chen got home around 9:45 in the evening and the police were still there, it should be counted as a night search. In any case, Apple sure is employing very rough strategies to show their power.