"iPhone-gate:" Police Raid Gizmodo Editor's Home

By: Charles Cooper
Topics: Tech Talk

Police raided the home of Gizmodo editor Jason Chen on Friday night, taking away computers and other electronic gear, Gizmodo said in a statement.

"Last Friday night, California's Rapid Enforcement Allied Computer Team entered editor Jason Chen's home without him present, seizing four computers and two servers. They did so using a warrant by Judge of Superior Court of San Mateo. According to Gaby Darbyshire, COO of Gawker Media LLC, the search warrant to remove these computers was invalid under section 1524(g) of the California Penal Code.

The warrant, issued by a Superior Court judge in San Mateo County, said the computers and other devices may have been used to commit a felony. Steve Wagstaffe, spokesman for the San Mateo County District Attorney's office, confirmed the warrant's authenticity to the Associated Press.

Speculation has been building since Friday, when CNET reported that law enforcement authorities were studying whether Gizmodo violated criminal laws when it purchased a lost Apple iPhone prototype. The Silicon Valley melodrama involving a - now increasingly beleaguered - 27 year-old-Apple engineer who forgot his prototype iPhone after leaving a German-style beer hall has become the talk of the town in the week since Gizmodo first announced its big scoop.

ZDNET: Questions of Legal Search Upon Journalist"
Meet the Man Who Busted Gizmodo's Editor
CNET:Police Seize Gizmodo Editor's Computer"

When Gizmodo announced that the super-secret Apple smartphone was in its possession and that the tech blog was posting photos and videos of its own, Nick Denton, founder of Gizmodo's parent company Gawker Media, also acknowledged that the company had paid $5,000 for the device.

Gizmodo subsequently returned the unit to Apple.

Charles Cooper is an executive editor at CNET News. He has covered technology and business for more than 25 years, working at CBSNews.com, the Associated Press, Computer & Software News, Computer Shopper, PC Week, and ZDNet. E-mail Charlie.

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by shomam April 17, 2011 10:15 PM EDT: What a violation of Chen's rights! The cops and Apple are doing this collusion to chill the media and bloggers' free speech. Chen needs to sue these bastards ASAP! http://methoo.com; Reply to this comment


by ToolMangler1 April 26, 2010 8:47 PM EDT: We just 'Thought' that Arizona was going to be the first "Police State",
Looks like Californikka beat them too it.; Reply to this comment


by OmegaWolf747 April 26, 2010 5:15 PM EDT: What a violation of Chen's rights! The cops and Apple are doing this collusion to chill the media and bloggers' free speech. Chen needs to sue these bastards ASAP!; Reply to this comment