Apple Wants to Muzzle Tinkerers - EFF filing suit
Apple has warned operators of a wiki about airing discussion about circumventing Apple's coupling of its iPod and iPhone hardware with iTunes. Now the Electronic Frontier Foundation is filing suit against Apple.
Claiming copyright infringement and violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), Apple's lawyers demanded removal of the Ipodhash discussion on the BluWiki site. The noncommercial, public wiki site promptly removed the Ipodhash discussion about how tinkerers could decouple iPods and iPhones from iTunes to make them run other software, in consideration of Apple's claim of violating their FairPlay digital rights management (DRM) technology. Apple had targeted OdioWorks LLC, which runs the BluWiki website, and their running the Ipodhash thread.
Sam Odio, who manages the forum, subsequently appealed for help to the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), whose mission is to preserve legal rights for Internet usage. EFF's lawyers followed up with their own claim against Apple and argued that it violated the right to free speech. Their argument was that in light of reverse engineering being considered legal, Apple's takedown request simply amounted to censorship.
Apple still hasn't come out with an official reaction to the claim. The documents related to EFF's complaint are on their website.
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
System76 Releases COSMIC Alpha 7
With scores of bug fixes and a really cool workspaces feature, COSMIC is looking to soon migrate from alpha to beta.
-
OpenMandriva Lx 6.0 Available for Installation
The latest release of OpenMandriva has arrived with a new kernel, an updated Plasma desktop, and a server edition.
-
TrueNAS 25.04 Arrives with Thousands of Changes
One of the most popular Linux-based NAS solutions has rolled out the latest edition, based on Ubuntu 25.04.
-
Fedora 42 Available with Two New Spins
The latest release from the Fedora Project includes the usual updates, a new kernel, an official KDE Plasma spin, and a new System76 spin.
-
So Long, ArcoLinux
The ArcoLinux distribution is the latest Linux distribution to shut down.
-
What Open Source Pros Look for in a Job Role
Learn what professionals in technical and non-technical roles say is most important when seeking a new position.
-
Asahi Linux Runs into Issues with M4 Support
Due to Apple Silicon changes, the Asahi Linux project is at odds with adding support for the M4 chips.
-
Plasma 6.3.4 Now Available
Although not a major release, Plasma 6.3.4 does fix some bugs and offer a subtle change for the Plasma sidebar.
-
Linux Kernel 6.15 First Release Candidate Now Available
Linux Torvalds has announced that the release candidate for the final release of the Linux 6.15 series is now available.
-
Akamai Will Host kernel.org
The organization dedicated to cloud-based solutions has agreed to host kernel.org to deliver long-term stability for the development team.