Last Friday, Gizmodo Editor in Chief Jason Chen’s home was raided by California police in regards to the explosive unveiling of an iPhone prototype. Giz paid upwards of $5000 for the device that was found (and maybe stolen), so police wanted to investigate the source of the iPhone a little bit closer. The interesting part, aside from the potential breach of the journalist shield law that prohibits law enforcement officials from revealing sources, is that Apple had a heavy hand in the team leading the raid.
The Rapid Enforcement and Allied Computer Team (REACT) spans a range of jurisdictions and agencies, combining to form a unit specialized in fighting cyber-crime. And guess who helps train and equip them? Yep, Apple. The engineer who had lost the device, Gray Powell, had requested the investigation along with an Apple legal aide. While no charges have been laid just yet, it’s very close to coming to that point. We’ll be keeping an eye out to see how the growingly-tense situation pans out.
[via Business Journal]