US based bloggers have the same rights to protect sources’ identities as offline journalists do, according to a new ruling by a Californian state appeals court. The case focused on Apple Computer’s attempt to identify individuals who leaked information about a new company secret to journalistic blogging web sites, including AppleInsider and PowerPage.

In the ruling, the judges said, “We can think of no workable test or principle that would distinguish ‘legitimate’ from ‘illegitimate’ news. Any attempt by courts to draw such a distinction would imperil a fundamental purpose of the First Amendment. . .”

Bloggers advocates Electronic Frontier Foundation hail the decision as a strong step toward earning the protection afforded to offline media.

Meanwhile, Amnesty International has launched a campaign to raise awareness about internet repression. Irrepressible.info is concerned about cases in China, Vietnam, Tunisia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Syria where bloggers are imprisoned for criticizing the government and calling for wider press freedoms and democracy. It also highlights companies like Yahoo, Google and Microsoft that have complied with government censorship in China.