Apple accused of stifling free speech

Apple is being sued by the Electronic Frontier Foundation‚ which has accused it of stifling free speech.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has launched legal action against Apple, claiming it is stifling free speech by attempting to shut down a website that provides information on how to use third party software with iPods and iPhones.

International lawyers acting on behalf of the not-for-profit group are working with those representing OdioWorks - the operator of the BlueWiki website - in an attempt to sue the consumer electronics giant.

In November, under the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act, Apple demanded that BlueWiki remove pages containing information posted by members of the public about how to use iPods and iPhones with software other than iTunes.

But the EEF has voiced its support for OdioWorks and has teamed up with its attorneys to file a lawsuit against Apple, accusing it of abusing US copyright law to curb lawful discussion.

"Apple's legal threats against BluWiki are about censorship, not about protecting their legitimate copyright interests," said EFF senior staff attorney Fred von Lohmann.

"It's legal to engage in reverse engineering in order to create a competing product, it's legal to talk about reverse engineering and it's legal for a public wiki to host those discussions."

Apple announced recently that it is lifting restrictions on music tracks sold through its iTunes store, which will allow users to play them on devices other than iPods and iPhones.

It also removed limits on the number of times music tracks bought through iTunes can be transferred onto different computers, with songs offered at three different price points - 59p, 79p and 99p.