ThinkSecret Update: A Lawyer Steps Forward

CNET is reporting that the Harvard Student who runs ThinkSecret has a lawyer. The same lawyer that has previously defended the Electronic Frontier Foundation has volunteered to help out the Mac rumor site owner pro bono.

Harvard undergraduate student Nicholas Ciarelli, who goes by the pseudonym Nick dePlume, said in an article on the site that he is being represented free of charge by Terry Gross..."Think Secret's reporting is protected by the First Amendment," said Gross, a former IBM systems programmer who also was part of the defense team of Leona Helmsley. "The Supreme Court has said that a journalist cannot be held liable for publishing information that the journalist obtained lawfully. Think Secret has not used any improper newsgathering techniques."

Here's hoping Apple comes to its senses sooner rather than later. Rumor sites provide more free press to the minority computer company than almost any other venue on the web. The symbiotic relationship is beneficial to both sides. Killing off rumor sites would also likely kill off Apple.