Rejects request by the AP, Bloomberg and CNN to release Jobs' 2011 video deposition for just-concluded antitrust case A federal judge Wednesday ruled that a two-hour video deposition recorded by former Apple CEO Steve Jobs will not be released to the press and public. Last week a trio of news organizations — the Associated Press, Bloomberg and CNN — had asked U.S. District Court Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers to force Apple to release the video, which was recorded in April 2011 and shown during the recent trial of a case alleging Apple stymied competition of its iPod digital music players. The jury cleared Apple of all charges in a unanimous verdict Tuesday. While 27 minutes of Jobs’ video deposition were shown to the jury and a transcript had been made public, the news companies wanted copies of the complete deposition. Apple countered, implying that the news companies only wanted the video to boost viewership and traffic to their websites. Rogers rejected the news firms’ motion, agreeing with Apple that the deposition had not been entered as a trial exhibit, and was instead “presented in lieu of live testimony due to the witness’s unavailability, and was and should be treated in the same manner as any other live testimony offered at trial.” Because cameras are not allowed in federal trials, Rogers said, releasing the Jobs deposition would essentially circumvent that ban. She also sided with Apple when the company argued that releasing the video could discourage others from sitting for a deposition. “The court also recognizes the public policy concern … that if releases of video depositions routinely occurred, witnesses might be reticent to submit voluntarily to video depositions in the future, knowing they might one day be publicly broadcast,” said Rogers. “If cameras in courtrooms were not currently prohibited, the argument might have less weight.” Although Rogers only mentioned it in passing, Apple’s real reason for wanting to withhold the video may have been Jobs’ physical condition during the deposition, which was recorded while he was on a final medical leave and just months before his death from pancreatic cancer. In his last public appearance in July 2011, Jobs was visibly frail. “Mr. Jobs is the only witness in this case whose testimony the broader public would ever see,” Apple’s lawyers said last week in their motion. “The public’s view of…almost ten years of litigation would be shaped entirely by a few minutes of one witness’s testimony.” Related content feature Windows 11 Insider Previews: What’s in the latest build? Get the latest info on new preview builds of Windows 11 as they roll out to Windows Insiders. Now updated for 22635.3500 for the Beta Channel and Build 26200 for the Canary Channel, both released on April 19, 2024. By Preston Gralla Apr 19, 2024 250 mins Small and Medium Business Microsoft Windows 11 news analysis Chasing business and partnerships, Apple goes APAC Apple CEO Tim Cook’s week-long visit to Indonesia, Vietnam, and Singapore highlights how the company continues to explore new opportunities in global markets. By Jonny Evans Apr 19, 2024 4 mins Manufacturing Industry Apple Vendors and Providers news Microsoft reminder: Support for Office 2016 and 2019 ends next year Older versions of Office apps and servers will no longer get security updates as of October 2025 — when Windows 10 also reaches end of support. By Matthew Finnegan Apr 19, 2024 3 mins Microsoft Office Microsoft Office Suites news Google consolidates AI teams into DeepMind to scale capacity The restructuring will simplify development by concentrating compute-intensive model building in one place and establishing single access points for PAs looking to take these models and build generative AI applications, Google said. By Gyana Swain Apr 19, 2024 4 mins Google Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe