Mean Bully Apple Succeeds in Closing Down College Student’s Mac Rumor Blog
A terse statement was jointly issued by Apple and Ciarelli today:
December 20, 2007 - PRESS RELEASE: Apple and Think Secret have settled their lawsuit, reaching an agreement that results in a positive solution for both sides. As part of the confidential settlement, no sources were revealed and Think Secret will no longer be published. Nick Ciarelli, Think Secret’s publisher, said “I’m pleased to have reached this amicable settlement, and will now be able to move forward with my college studies and broader journalistic pursuits.”
Ciarelli is an undergraduate at Harvard University, and has been an editor at the student newspaper The Harvard Crimson. ThinkSecret was his labor of love as a self-admitted rabid Macintosh fan.
(left: ThinkSecret Publisher and Harvard Student Nicholas Ciarelli)
This sets a terrible precedent. Apple already stands alone in the computer industry as the most paranoid about its image and its ability to control news about its products. Now they have succeeded in using an army of corporate lawyers to shut down a college student’s blog. This is corporate bulling of the worst sort, as well as a show of haughty contempt for the rights of a free press in the United States.
The phrase “amicable settlement” strongly suggests that Apple paid Ciarelli off. You can’t blame him. What would the average college student/blogger do if, while fighting a lawsuit from one of the biggest companies in the computer industry, they offer cash to make you just go away?
ZDNet’s Larry Digman put it well today:
I can’t blame Ciarelli. When it comes to lawsuits Apple has a cannon and ThinkSecret has a pea shooter (if that). Why wouldn’t you want to put this lawsuit behind you? But a shutdown sets a bad precedent. Every time a blog writes something a company doesn’t like–Apple is a big stickler–or leaks information a publisher will have two choices: Shutdown and save your financial life. Or get destroyed by an army of lawyers.
