Just put the iPhone on the ground and back away slowly | Good Morning Silicon Valley

See the full article for a summary of some of the laws that are likely to part of the next chapter in this saga

Gizmodo’s cheery tone is understandable, for the moment anyway. The scoop on the next-gen iPhone and the follow-up with more backstory and the identity of the Apple employee who lost the device have garnered the site millions of page views. And Nick Denton, head of Gizmodo parent Gawker Media, acknowledging he paid $5,000 to the finder of the phone, was reveling in reinforcing his reputation as a renegade, saying, “A story is a story. We’re not squeamish about the means. And the paroxysms of the j-school ethicists add to the satisfaction.”

But as a general rule, you don’t cross the mob, the IRS or Apple without suffering some consequences, and it’s likely that Apple’s legal team and perhaps other authorities are looking at the potential criminal and civil ramifications of all this.

Just put the iPhone on the ground and back away slowly | Good Morning Silicon Valley