iPhone 4 leak leads to police raid

Striking the balance between responsible reporting and hunting for those all elusive web clicks is a tough one. All news-driven websites tread the line. Sometimes those gambles pay off. Other times they don’t. But rarely do they backfire as spectacularly as they have for Gizmodo’s Jason Chen.

The tech site editor seemingly struck gold last week when Gizmodo paid cash to obtain what had been described at the time as a ‘lost’ Apple iPhone prototype.

To hold, to document, to reveal to the world perhaps THE most anticipated gadget in the world at this present moment was an opportunity most editors would crave for.

Even Gizmodo’s staunchest opponents willingly reported the story, happy to forget deeply entrenched grudges for the chance to ride in the wake left by Chen’s scoop.

However, one man’s lost is another man’s stolen.

Chen is adamant that Apple lost its phone. Steve Jobs’ firm, and seemingly the Californian police, seemingly reckon it was nicked.

Business Insider reports that police have raided Chen’s home as part of its investigation into ‘iPhone4-gate’, seizing Macs, laptops, hard drives, phones, USB drives and a server in the process. The move follows growing talk that legal powers were mounting against Gizmodo.

All tech companies have to contend with leaks, but few are as protective of their secrets as Apple – a lesson Gizmodo is finding out the hard way.

The site’s parent company Gawker Media claims that the seizure was illegal. Chen’s account of the raid can be read on Gizmodo.