On Thursday , a day before Apple CEO Steve Jobsheld a press conference about the iPhone 4 ’s transmitting aerial problems , the San Mateo County District Attorney ’s agency withdrew the search endorsement previously issued for Gizmodo editor Jason Chen ’s home in the case of the stolen iPhone epitome . The withdrawal method came after Chen agreed to voluntarily provide authorities with information .
“ We did request and the motor lodge granted our petition to withdraw the search warrant , ” Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe toldMacworld . “The reason we ’ve done this is that we arrived at an correspondence with Tom Nolan , the attorney for Mr. Chen , that if we would concur to withdraw the endorsement , they would agree to voluntarily have all info from the data processor — which is in the work force of the special schoolmaster now — provided to the REACT [ Rapid Enforcement Allied Computer Team ] detectives so it could be viewed . ”
The two - Thomas Nelson Page document rate the withdrawal , a transcript of which was obtained by the Electronic Frontier Foundation , says that sequester item will be return to Chen through his attorney after the authorities control the copies of the entropy that the Gizmodo editor is providing .
Chen ’s theater wassearched by authorities in Aprilafter Gizmodo published info about a epitome iPhone 4 that was discovered in a Silicon Valley - surface area stripe . Among the possessions seized from Chen ’s property were several computers , television camera , and other technical devices , many of which belonged to Gizmodo .
Thelater unsealed warrantrevealed that the iPhone image was a test social unit belonging to Apple railroad engineer Gray Powell , which was found by 21 - year - older Brian Hogan . Hogan afterward sold the unit to Gizmodo for the centre of $ 5,000 and was himself apprehend by authorities .
Gizmodo parent company Gawker and the EFF grapple that the warrant issue to look Chen ’s sign was illegal , as Chen ’s status as a journalist gentle him to protection under California ’s carapace Torah . Others , meanwhile , have argue that the shield law is intend to protect journalists from disclosing origin who have committed a crime , and not diarist themselves who have committed a crime .
break forward , however , that point may be moot , accord to Wagstaffe . The Chief Deputy D.A. enunciate that because Chen is voluntarily providing the request info , it “ couch to an end any first amendment issues . ”
However , the draw search warrant does not think of that probe is at an end . If nothing else , feelings about the incident clearly still run high . job took flowerpot blastoff at Gizmodo at Friday ’s printing press conference , even say at one point , “ You know , sometimes Web sites buy stolen prototypes and put them on the web . And we do n’t like that . ”
